HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) launches the UK’s first guide with advice for health and social care staff on how to support older people living with HIV.
The Health, Wealth & Happiness Good Practice Guide is aimed at staff working within the NHS, adult social services and community settings. As well as highlighting the challenges that older people living with HIV can face, the guide offers practical advice about how to commission and deliver services for this group, including peer mentoring, advice and group work projects.
The guide is free to download CLICK HERE:
Older people are the fastest-growing group living with HIV in the UK. In 2012, an estimated 24,510 people with the condition were aged 50 or over. These numbers are set to double over the next five years, as people with HIV age and others contract the virus later in life.
THT’s ground breaking research project 50 Plus revealed that a significant proportion of people living with HIV over the age of 50 live alone, experience poverty, have limited family support, and are likely to need support from formal services – such as social services, care homes and sheltered housing – as they age.
Paul Ward, Acting Chief Executive at THT, said: “There are now as many as 25,000 older people with HIV in the UK, and this number is only going to rise. It’s vital that health and social care staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to properly support this group, especially as they often have complex needs. We hope our guide will raise awareness of the specific difficulties older people with HIV can face, and help services gear up to ensure appropriate support is in place.”
The Good Practice Guide has been created as part of Terrence Higgins Trust’s Health, Wealth & Happiness project, a pilot initiative funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the Daily Mail.
For further information on the Good Practice Guide, or the Health, Wealth & Happiness project, CLICK HERE:
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