Question
How do I officially complain about my GUM clinic?
12 August 2010. Related: All topics, HIV testing.
I recently submitted a post here and went for my 20 day test at West Bromwich clinic I was told they did a HIV p24 test however when I got there the nurse was very rude and said they did a Venus test and that they didn’t do the p24 test. The whole thing was a waste of time and I came out not having a HIV test done at all. I don’t understand, do they do the test routinely or can they do different tests?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
I can only apologise for this inconvenience. After you contacted us initially I personally phoned the West Bromwich Sandwell General Hospital GUM clinic and they were very helpful and said the p24 tests were standard practice.
This is not the first time we have come across GUM clinics who are not aware of the type of HIV tests they are offering. I expect the particular nurse you spoke to felt a little threatened that you were more informed than him/her.
I am not aware of a HIV test called Venus. It could be that this nurse was referring to another STI test.
If you would like to make a complaint about the service you received then you should write to the GUM clinic and to Dr Steve Taylor, Lead Consultant of the Birmingham Heartlands HIV Trust. If you send me a personal e-mail I can forward you his address. Please feel free to copy me in to the mail as well if you wish.
The area of GUM clinic workers nationally not fully understanding the difference between 3rd and 4th generation HIV tests is something i-Base will be looking in to further.