Clinic offers instant HIV test

8:50am Monday 6th October 2008

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A PRIVATE walk-in surgery in Basingstoke is offering on-the-spot HIV tests to worried patients.

Samedaydoctor is a new medical franchise opened by doctors from the Bramblys Grange Medical Practice at Dickson House in Crown Heights.

By coming to us it instantly relieves stress and helps them get back on with their life

Sarah Brain

It offers instant testing of the sexually transmitted disease (STD) to patients who can remain anonymous.

The drop-in clinic has also started offering fast test results for other STDs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

It currently has between three to eight patients a day, although the practice is confident patient numbers will grow, even though fees start at £100.

Practice manager Sarah Brain said some patients were willing to pay for peace of mind.

She said: “A lot of people become extremely nervous about what they might have and can’t stop thinking about it.

“By coming to us, it instantly relieves stress and helps them get back on with their life. We are not in competition with the NHS – we are just offering something different.”

Despite the credit crunch, she said patients would use the clinic for speed, convenience and confidentiality. The new clinic has its own premises on the first floor of Dickson House and is separate from the plan-ned healthcare facility in the Assura Health and Wellness Centre in Crown Heights, previously reported in The Gazette.

The Samedaydoctor clinic is also testing for conditions and diseases like cancer, diabetes and cholesterol by sending the samples to a private laboratory in London.

Patients will first see a nurse practitioner who is licensed to prescribe and diagnose, although a private GP is on hand if necessary, along with counselling.

The clinic is open from 8am to 7pm on weekdays, and on Saturday from 10am to 2pm.