Working as an improvement community to get to zero new HIV cases
Background
London aims to be the first global city to get to:
- zero new HIV infections
- zero preventable deaths
- zero stigma
- And the best health and quality of life for people living with HIV.
London’s council run and clinical HIV services are excellent, but to get to zero we also need to fully embrace the success and expertise of the HIV voluntary sector and people living with HIV.
An HIV improvement fund was launched in October 2019 and 12 community-led projects launched in March 2020 focussed on:
- increasing HIV testing
- supporting HIV treatment and care
- tackling stigma and improving quality of life
Methods
The HIV improvement community projects operate through 12 partnerships between clinics in 9 NHS hospital trusts and 22 community organisations.
The community organisations lead the projects and are supported by:
- training and evaluation
- using a Quality Improvement methodology
- ongoing sharing of skills, information and learning as an adaptive network
All projects focus on the whole person and not simply on health conditions.
Results
The HIV improvement community projects went live during the first 2020 Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ in London, quickly adapting from face to face care, to online and phone services.
All projects have learned how to use Quality Improvement methodologies to experiment with and improve their approaches.
The leadership role of community organisations in their partnership with clinical services has led to new ways of working.
The HIV improvement community model means that new and existing knowledge is spread easily within the network to achieve the common aims.
Recommendations
- Work together to form partnerships across different types of organisations and focus on transformational change.
- Prioritise community leadership to strengthen relationships between clinical and voluntary sectors.
- Provide protected time, funding and Quality Improvement training for community organisations and people with lived experience, to find solutions to complex problems faced by specific populations.
- Deliver better tailored interventions to improve access to services that address the unmet needs of diverse and frequently underserved communities.
Thank you to NHS England (London Region) for the funding.
Read more about the HIV improvement community projects on our website here.