People across England are being encouraged to take free finger-prick HIV tests in their own homes. To mark National HIV Testing Week, the tests can now be ordered free on the NHS via the website freetesting.hiv.
The tests are small enough to fit through a letterbox and arrive in plain packaging, with instructions on what do to if the test is positive. Test results take just 15 minutes and are part of a drive to end new HIV cases in England by 2030.
The HIV test works in a similar way to an at-home pregnancy test or Covid lateral flow test, but uses a few drops of blood from a prick on the finger. If preferred, people can order a test where a small blood sample is sent to a lab and screened for both HIV and syphilis at the same time.
