Sister Janice Rees, clinical nurse specialist in infection control, has been looking after people with HIV and other blood-borne viruses in Pembrokeshire for the past seven years. Based at Withybush Hospital, she travels all over the county providing nursing care and offering support to patients and their families. She also gives general infections control advice to clinical staff and members of the public about everything from bacterial infections to chickenpox. Patients are referred to Sister Rees by their own doctors, the substance misuse team, other nurses, or sometimes through self-referral. Before anyone has an HIV test, they are given pre-test counselling. The test itself involves taking a sample of blood. About ten days later, people receive their results.

We always give results in person, never by phone, said Sister Rees. The vast majority of results are negative, but for people who are diagnosed with HIV, we offer on-going support and counselling to patients and their families and friends.

The infection control team, which consists of Sister Rees along with a consultant microbiologist and infection control nurse, have a good working relationship with Social Services and the Benefits Agency, which means they can make sure patients have up-to-date advice on benefits and housing. Emotional support is also a key part of their work, for example helping people with HIV break the news to people close to them. The most important thing about World AIDS Day and wearing the red ribbon is that they make people think, Sister Rees said. People still need to be aware of AIDS and take the risks seriously.

More than 3,500 people in the UK were diagnosed with HIV in 2000, which is the highest ever total in a single year. For the first time in Britain, the biggest increase in 2000 was among heterosexuals.

Saturday, December 1st will be the 14th World AIDS Day. In the UK, it is co-ordinated by the National AIDS Trust and funded by the Department of Health. See the website www.worldaidsday.org for more information, or contact Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Health Promotion Service on 01437 766119