testing and treatment

Mildmay offers an impressively wide array of treatment services to care for people living with HIV. For example, at our centre in Uganda these include;
• Medical and nursing care
• laboratory services
• pharmacy services
• tuberculosis treatment
• adherence counselling
• dental care
• gynaecology
• eye clinics

Central to any work in the HIV+AIDS field is the need for clients to know their status. However this can be a sensitive process and many of our clients need support. Typical of Mildmay’s holistic approach, when a patient comes to be tested they will receives group counselling before the test to ensure they understand what is involved. The test is very rapid, a result can be given within 30 seconds. The results will then be given privately at a one-to-one counselling session.

At Mildmay Uganda the number of new patients enrolled into care has grown rapidly by the establishment of voluntary counselling and testing services.

Antiretrovirals (ARVs)
Much of our international care now also embraces ARVs, with training focused on their effective use, while continuing to deal with the longer-term effects of HIV.

While ARVs do not represent a cure, they have generally lengthened survival rates. However, this has presented increasing challenges across the whole interdisciplinary spectrum as we now manage what is becoming a chronic disease.

At our UK hospital and our centres in Uganda, we monitor all medication, including ARVs. This involves the management of side effects, responses to any adverse drug reactions and the need for ongoing adherence linked to psychological support and education.