Health

HIV Services for people affected by HIV or AIDS

Including their families and carers

What is HIV/AIDS?

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It attacks the body's defence system preventing it from fighting illnesses and infections.

HIV can be passed on in the following ways:

Unprotected sexual intercourse - vaginal, oral or anal without using a condom
Sharing contaminated needles, syringes and 'works'
From an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding
From contaminated blood or blood products

It can only be passed on to another person if those fluids get into that person's body.

How can Barking and Dagenham Adult and Community Services help?

To support the people who live within the borough, professionals within Health, Voluntary groups and the Adult and Community Services aim to work together closely, to try and provide a comprehensive service to people of all ages who are affected by HIV and AIDS, and their families and children.

Within the Adult and Community Services Department, the Physical Impairment team, have social work staff who specialise in working in partnership with people who are affected by HIV and AIDS.

The social worker is able to offer an assessment which means we can find out how best to meet your needs. The range of services available to you depends on your personal circumstances but alternatively, it might be just a matter of providing advice or information.

Carers of people affected can also contact the social worker for a separate assessment in their own right to see if we can support them in their caring role.

Services available

With current medication regimes, many people are able to live independently with little or no support. But for some people, they may have periods where they may require support with some of their needs for example washing and dressing themselves, shopping, or preparing meals.

We are able to provide direct help to meet eligible needs and the social worker will explain this following any assessment. Of course many needs are ones that a person can meet him or herself using a community resource or service they were not aware existed (for example, the social worker can advice on which cafés or shops deliver locally).

The Supporting People Program may also be able to help by providing housing-related support aimed at preventing problems that can often lead to someone losing their homes.

Our Commitment to residents

Here in Barking and Dagenham the number of people who are affected steadily increases. This increase is not restricted to any one group (i.e. gender, sexual orientation or age), but exists within all areas.

The Physical Impairment Team is involved in raising local awareness of issues around HIV/AIDS and reducing stigma and ignorance, whilst also encouraging people already affected to suggest services they would like to see available.

As a local authority, we actively seek to work with people in commissioning the services of the future, recognising the wealth of knowledge people have on how their condition affects them.