Why we should all get regularly tested for HIV

On this episode of the ITV Pridecast, Liam McConkey visits the Coronation Street Visitor Experience in Media City to chat with Naomi Sloyan, one of the soap’s location managers, about living with HIV. Alongside Naomi is Darren Knight from the George House Trust, the charity which offers advice and support on anything to do with HIV. Both discuss the importance of testing and how effective HIV treatment is helping peoplelive long and healthy lives.

In 2022, 39 million people across the globe were living with HIV. The treatment for and awareness of the condition has significantly changed over the years, but even with effective medication, stigma and misconceptions still exist about the virus.

For a long time, HIV has often been stereotyped as a condition affecting mainly gay or bisexual men. But now in some parts of the UK the number of new HIV diagnoses among heterosexual people is higher than it is for gay and bisexual men.

Naomi Sloyan knows just how crucial it is to get tested for HIV. In 2014 she unknowingly contracted the virus after being in a brief relationship with a man. However it wasn’t until several years later that she started showing symptoms and was diagnosed with HIV in March 2018.

In that period between her contracting HIV and then being diagnosed with it, Naomi had not been sexually active, but says if she had it would’ve been picked up sooner because she would’ve had sexual health tests done. But despite being very ill for around a year before her diagnosis, medical professionals did not think to test her for HIV. That was until one consultant who was trying to work out what was making her unwell, recommended a test.

After taking one Naomi’s results came back positive and she was finally able to know what had been causing her to be so ill. Soon after she started receiving effective treatment from the sexual health clinic and within two months she was back at work as a location manager at Coronation Street, something she’s been doing for 25 years.

Naomi shares her story with Liam McConkey on this ITV Pridecast which was recorded in the run-up to World AIDS Day on 1st December. She discusses why all people should go and get regularly tested for HIV and no one should assume that they cannot contract it. Naomi also talks about the support out there for people when they get diagnosed and why it’s vital to understand what it means to be undetectable and untransmittable (U=U).

Joining them on the Pridecast is Darren Knight, the CEO of the George House Trust. The charity has been helping support people with HIV since 1985 and is based in the north east of England. The organisation says its purpose is to inspire people living with HIV to live healthy and confident lives. Darren shares how people can do just that and the support his charity and many others provide to anyone affected by HIV.

He also chats about the importance of understanding the terminology in this subject area, especially regarding the difference between HIV and AIDs and what it means to be U=U. As well as that, Darren talks about the stigma for people with HIV and how we must continue to challenge it.

If you want any more information on anything to do with HIV, visit the websites below which offer a range of information and support:

• George House Trust: https://ght.org.uk/
• World AIDS Day: https://worldaidsday.org/
• Terrence Higgins Trust: https://www.tht.org.uk/
• NHS information on HIV: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hiv-and-aids/