Welcome to the Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth HIV service. This leaflet aims to tell you about our service and gives you the information you need to manage your health.

Our aim is to provide you with excellent care and enable you to lead a healthy life. Our teams have extensive experience in managing complex health and social needs. We will keep you informed at every stage of your treatment and enable you to make the best decisions about your healthcare.

The HIV clinic
The service is provided by Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust and is based at:

Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth
Weymouth Community Hospital
3 Melcombe Avenue
Weymouth, DT7 4TB

The clinic provides HIV outpatient treatment and care. Inpatient care, specialist support and 24 hour advice is provided by the HIV consultants at Sexual Health Dorset @Bournemouth.

HIV clinics operate by appointment only. They are held once a week on a Monday morning (appointments from 9-11.30am). If you need to make or change an appointment, please call reception on 0300 303 1948 (option 2). If you miss an appointment the team will try to contact you to rearrange or send you a text message prompt to rebook.

The clinic is overseen by the consultants, working with health advisers, nurse specialists and an HIV pharmacist. If you are stable, you will usually be seen alternately by the consultant or specialist nurse. If you have other complex medical problems, you will always be seen by a consultant who will consult with other experts if needed.

How to contact the clinic

  • You can book an appointment directly with reception staff in the clinic or by telephone 0300 303 1948 (option 2).
  • You can contact a health adviser for advice any time during clinic opening hours (Monday to Friday), 0300 303 1948 (option 2).
  • You can also contact the clinic by email, dhc.sexualhealth.adminwest@nhs.net.

NB: You can request a repeat prescription using the email address above, however you are advised to telephone the clinic if you have any urgent requests.

Our staff
Consultants: Dr Sara Scofield and Dr Jenny Murira
Health Advisers: Kate Armitage, Billy Clarke, Rachael Elliott
Pharmacists: Kerry Street and Jemma Dunlop
Secretary: Jane Hodges

Services provided
We provide diagnosis, treatment and care of adults with HIV infection and its associated conditions.

  • Support for those newly diagnosed with HIV and their partners.
  • Advice around transmission and risk reduction.
  • Free condoms.
  • Partner notification service and support around disclosure of HIV status to partners.
  • Screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
  • All outpatient HIV care and treatment including monitoring, free prescription of HIV medications and adherence support.
  • Management of side effects due to HIV medications.
  • Hepatitis screening and vaccination where possible.
  • Annual cervical smear tests for HIV positive women aged 25-64.
  • HPV vaccine for eligible patients
  • Contraception advice and provision.
  • Preconception advice and management of HIV during pregnancy (in partnership with other services).
  • Mental health support or referral.
  • Alcohol and drug misuse advice and referral.

HIV treatment home delivery service
Our HIV drugs are dispensed and delivered by Sciensus an external pharmacy service. It has the advantage of being VAT exempt, which results in considerable cost savings for the clinic. It also gives you a choice of delivery locations allowing you to collect your medicines from a convenient location at a time that suits you. You may have your medicines posted to:

  • your home address;
  • an alternative address (usually your workplace or a relative or friend);
  • the clinic at Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth.

The service provides a safe, secure and confidential means of getting your medicines to you.

It is important that you do not run out of your drugs as they may stop working if you miss doses. We ask that you call us to request a repeat prescription 4 weeks before your drug supplies run out to allow enough time to arrange the prescription.

To request a prescription, contact the service by telephone and ask to speak to a the health adviser, 0300 303 1948 (option 2), or email dhc.sexualhealth.adminwest@nhs.net (your email will be forwarded to the HIV team).

If you are concerned about a drug delivery, the first point of contact for any enquiries is Sciensus. If the problem is not resolved, you should contact the HIV team at Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth.

Contacts:
Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth
Phone – 0300 303 1948 (option 2)
Email – dhc.sexualhealth.adminwest@nhs.net

Sciensus
Phone – 0333 103 9499
(Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, weekends and bank holidays 8am-4.30pm)
Website - https://www.sciensus.com/ (live chat option available through website)

Communicating with your GP
We strongly believe that your GP should be informed about your HIV diagnosis and any medication we are prescribing you. This ensures your GP does not prescribe any medicines that may interact with your HIV drugs. Also, should you become unwell, your GP will know that they need to consider some less common causes of illness.

If you have been prescribed a new medication by your GP, or bought over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, please ensure it is safe to take with your HIV medications. We ask GPs to record the HIV drugs on their computer system as “non-issue” records to ensure that any potential drug interactions are flagged up. 

We also recommend an excellent website for checking drug interactions with HIV therapy, http://www.hiv-druginteractions.org. If you are unsure, please contact the clinic for advice.

Your GP will be able to ensure that you receive vaccinations that are recommended for everyone living with HIV, such as the annual seasonal influenza (flu) vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine.

Your GP is the best person to see for any non-HIV related health needs, such as asthma, high blood pressure, etc. We may pick up other heath conditions in clinic which we will ask your GP to investigate and treat.

Providing we have your permission, we will keep your GP up to date with your condition and the medications we prescribe and, unless you ask us not to, will send you a copy of any letters sent to your GP.

Obtaining medical advice
Most illnesses can be adequately managed by your GP. However, if you think the symptoms are related to HIV or your medications we are happy to advise. Contact the clinic during working hours.

If you become unwell outside of working hours, but it is not an emergency, you could:

  • telephone NHS 111;
  • see your GP’s out-of-hours service;
  • attend a walk-in centre.

If you are acutely unwell, you should attend the emergency department. If your condition is thought to be related to the HIV, the doctor seeing you will be able to obtain advice from one of the on-call HIV consultants from Bournemouth.

Support, advice and information
The staff at Sexual Health Dorset @Weymouth are happy to provide information and support as detailed in “Services provided” in person at the clinic or by telephone.

We collaborate with peer-led organisations that provide support in the community.  These agencies can provide one-to-one support and advise practical support around social issues such as housing, welfare, employment and training.

  • Body Positive Dorset is an organisation set up to offer advice, practical support, counselling and information for people whose lives have been affected by HIV. It is based in Bournemouth. It can be contacted by telephone, 01202 297386 or http://www.bodypositivedorset.org.

Regular information about medical updates is provided by several charitable organisations.

  • NAM provides information resources such as “HIV treatment update” free of charge to people living with HIV. It has an excellent website, www.aidsmap.com and also sends regular updates via email if requested. Additional resources are available via the clinic portal (accessed from the NAM homepage): Username: dorset-patients    Password: NAM
  • Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) provides information and advice about HIV and sexual health.  It has a telephone helpline, 0808 802 1221 and a website http://www.tht.org.uk.
  • HIV i-Base publishes a monthly “HIV Treatment Bulletin” which is free to people living with HIV and available either in print or electronically. It is more technical than the NAM “HIV treatment update”. It can be requested from the website, http://www.i-Base.info or by sending an email to subscriptions@i-Base.org.uk. It also has a treatment phone line where patients can discuss issues with treatment advocates, 0808 800 6013.

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