As well as being NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s centre for HIV care and treatment, the Brownlee Clinic provides the following services:
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks the body’s immune system and weakens it over time until it cannot fight off infections and cancers that a healthy person can. There is no cure for HIV, but very effective treatment means HIV can now be classed as a long-term manageable condition. With this effective treatment people with HIV are living, long and healthy lives. But as with any long-term condition, being diagnosed with HIV can be a life-changing experience that can have a whole range of emotional and practical implications.
However, there are a range of services that offer support and guidance on all aspects your life with HIV.
If you are looking for more information then we recommend reading the basics about HIV via NAM and checking out their range of excellent leaflets.
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the name used to describe a combination of potentially life-threatening infections and cancers, which can develop when someone’s immune system has been damaged by untreated HIV. You cannot catch AIDS and there is no AIDS test. HIV causes AIDS and it is HIV that can be passed on. Just because someone has been diagnosed with an AIDS-related illness, does not mean they will die. Thanks to effective HIV treatment, many people who develop AIDS are now very well and can look forward to a long and healthy life.
HIV is a blood borne virus that is present in the body fluids and tissues of a person living with HIV. Only blood, genital fluids (i.e. semen and vaginal fluids) and breast milk from an HIV infected person can transmit HIV.
The main ways HIV can be passed on to someone else are during unprotected sex (vaginal or anal), by sharing any equipment used to inject drugs, and from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth or through breastfeeding. But there are very effective ways of preventing HIV infection in all of these situations.
HIV cannot be transmitted through normal social contact. There is no risk to your friends and family from kissing, hugging or shaking hands – or any other social contact. You cannot get HIV by being in the same place as someone with HIV, or by sharing household items such as crockery, cutlery, or bed linen. HIV is not passed on by sneezing or coughing or sharing food and drink.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis is a course of anti-HIV drugs which would be taken by people to lower the risk of becoming infected with HIV. Research suggests that PrEP is as effective as condoms at preventing HIV.
PrEP does not protect against any STIs other than HIV and it only protects the person taking PrEP.
For more information on PrEP and how you can access it, see the PrEP FAQ on the Sandyford Initiative website.
Below are a selection of links to websites and organisations that you may find interesting. Most are independent organisations that are not part of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. NHSGGC is not responsible for the content or information contained on these websites.
On this page we have linked to the main website of these organisations, some of which are Scotland or UK wide. Other sections of the Brownlee HIV website have links to local services that some of these organisations provide in NHS GGC. You can find a lot of these services on the patient support page.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and our Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) have been conducting periodic Health and Wellbeing Surveys since 1999. Over the years, the survey has grown significantly in both size and content. The 2022/23 survey had a sample size of just over 10,000 and, for the first time, covered all geographic areas within NHSGGC.
The survey offers a comprehensive overview of health and wellbeing, encompassing aspects such as perceived health and illness, health behaviours, social capital, social health, and financial wellbeing. With its extensive sample size and broad geographic coverage, the survey enables detailed analysis by age, gender, and deprivation category across Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Additionally, it allows for specific insights within Health and Social Care Partnerships/Localities and various neighbourhoods within Glasgow City, based on SG intermediate zones.
The survey is extensively used by NHSGGC to assess health needs and address inequalities across various topics, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, long-term conditions or illnesses, social connectedness, reciprocity/trust, volunteering, caring responsibilities, and difficulty finding unexpected sums. Questions are designed and adapted to be comparable with those of other national surveys such as the Census and Scottish Health Survey but also to reflect changing policy priorities and social context so that, for example the 2022/23 survey included questions relating to the impact of COVID.
The survey includes a set of indicators to track trends in key areas such as perceptions of general health, physical and mental wellbeing, overall quality of life, diet, smoking, social capital, economic activity and perceptions of household income. In this way we aim to monitor the wellbeing of our population over time, while also measuring new and changing public health themes and targets. The survey is designed to be flexible, ensuring it aligns with current policies and emerging issues.
As previous NHSGGC Health and Wellbeing surveys have not had a sufficient sample size for a detailed analysis of the experiences of minority ethnic people, the first Minority Ethnic Health and Wellbeing Survey was conducted in 2016 within Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership. The second Minority Ethnic Health and Wellbeing Survey was conducted across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2024. This followed the same format as that of the Adult survey of 2022/23. It is hoped that future Minority Ethnic surveys will be merged as part of the Adult survey process.
The overall objectives of the Health and Wellbeing survey are:
Access to the data is available to researchers, public health professionals, and partner organisations with a legitimate interest in improving population health. All requests are subject to review and must comply with data protection legislation.
Respondents to the 2017/18 and 2022/23 were asked if they agreed to having their anonymous surveys linked to their CHI number. Of the most recent 2022/23 Adult Health and Wellbeing sample, more than 80% agreed to have their surveys linked. This allows for linkage and exploration to other clinical records. Requests for linked datasets requires a Safe Haven pathway.
To request access to the survey or linked dataset, applicants must in the first instance email the Health and Wellbeing Survey Team at the email address below. Following and initial discussion you will be asked to:
If you would like more information about the NHSGGC Health and Wellbeing survey or have an initial discussion about accessing the data please email ggc.contact.research@nhs.scot
Below are links to some of the outputs from the latest and previous surveys, published by NHSGGC and external partners, including:
Stòr is NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s digital repository for Public Health. You can access the Health and Wellbeing Survey reports for 2014/15 and 2017/18 as well as reports produced by our partners using the Health and Wellbeing data.
The clinical team will do their best to answer the questions you might have about living with HIV. But, for some people getting advice and information from someone that has gone through a similar experience, can be incredibly useful and reassuring. Below is a list of frequently asked questions and answers compiled by patients at the Brownlee Centre covering some of the main questions they themselves had when first diagnosed.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks the body’s immune system and weakens it over time until it cannot fight off infections and cancers that a healthy person can. There is no cure for HIV, but very effective treatment means many people now consider HIV as a long-term manageable condition. With this effective treatment people with HIV are living, long and healthy lives. HIV causes AIDS and it is HIV that can be passed on. Just because someone has been diagnosed with an AIDS-related illness, does not mean they will die. Thanks to effective HIV treatment, many people who develop AIDS are now very well and can look forward to a long and healthy life.
More detailed information can be found at the Aidsmap website.
Nowadays people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives and it is considered by many to be a long-term condition. But as with any long-term condition, being diagnosed with HIV can be a life-changing experience that will have a whole range of emotional and practical implications. You can get information on a whole range of subjects by speaking to the staff or meeting with a Peer Volunteer.
Nowadays the majority of people in the UK diagnosed with HIV who follow the advice of their specialist care team are physically healthy and will not die due to their HIV infection. More detailed information can be found at the NAM and Aidsmap website.
This depends on how long you have had HIV before being diagnosed and what strain of the virus you have and any other illnesses or conditions you might have. It is recommended that everyone diagnosed with HIV starts treatment right away but this will be discussed with your doctor. Improvements in medications are happening all the time, so that people take fewer tablets less often – some people take only one pill once per day. Medications also have less severe side effects with a lot of people not having any long-term side effects at all. But everyone is different. More detailed information can be found at the NAM and Aidsmap website.
People sometimes worry about infecting others, but you cannot ‘give’ anyone HIV through normal social contact (shaking hands, hugging, kissing), by sharing food or cutlery, or using the same toilet. Even if you cut yourself HIV cannot cross healthy unbroken skin and washing with normal soap and water kills the virus. HIV is most commonly transmitted through having sex without a condom (anal or vaginal) or sharing injecting equipment. More detailed information can be found at the NAM and Aidsmap website.
When first told they have HIV, many people feel that their sex lives are over or at least things will be very difficult, but this is not true. Most people living with HIV have happy, healthy and fulfilling sex lives. But it does mean there are some things you need to consider when deciding how and when you want to have sex.
This section contains information on some of the things you may need to think about when you feel ready to have sex again. If you wish to discuss any of these issues you can ask to see one of the Sexual Health Advisers at the Brownlee.
The answer to this varies from person to person and depends on your situation. What you do have to remember is that once you tell someone you cannot take it back. This is why it is important to think about it carefully and it can be helpful talking this through in confidence with a Peer Volunteer.
It is important that current or previous sexual partners are tested as this is the only way to find out if someone has HIV and it could prevent them from becoming seriously ill. Notifying them can be done anonymously on your behalf and a member of staff will speak to you about this. More detailed information can be found at the NAM and Aidsmap website.
Every patient with HIV has a named consultant and a specialist nurse allocated to them. At clinic visits you won’t always see your consultant and it might be one of the department’s speciality doctors, but your overall care is always monitored and reviewed by your consultant. At clinic you can also access: sexual health advisors, counsellors, pharmacist, occupational therapist and a dietician. These staff are key members of our Multidisciplinary Team.
If you don’t understand something then the best thing to do is to ask the member of staff to explain it. When it comes to your treatment and care there is no such thing as a stupid question. CD4 and Viral are the blood tests commonly carried out as they give important information about the effects HIV is having on your body. A CD4 cell count tells you about the strength of the immune system, which protects us against infections and illness. Viral load measures how much HIV there is in a drop of blood. For more information click here
All patient records are now held electronically; however the notes related to your HIV treatment and care are maintained with restricted and secure access. Only healthcare professionals looking after you will have access to the letters and blood tests that are relevant to providing you with optimal care. All NHS staff irrespective of their speciality or department are bound by and work under strict policy and rules on patient confidentiality. If you want more information on this then speak to a member of staff, view the Health Board’s information on Data Protection and Privacy or see the guides Your Voice, Your Choice, Your Rights developed by HIV Scotland in conjunction with the National AIDS Trust (NAT).
There is no right answer to this question that will make you feel instantly better. Although people living with HIV share many of the same experiences and fears each person deals with it uniquely. Coming to terms with it also means different things to different people, but for many this is about acceptance and moving forwards to deal with what living with HIV means for them. Talking to someone can help and this could be someone close to you, a trained counsellor or a Peer Volunteer who understand what it’s like. Find out about Peer Support and Peer Volunteers.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde consider that any stigmatisation or discrimination of people living with HIV is unacceptable.
Poor knowledge and misconceptions about how the virus is transmitted means that HIV can evoke fears, prejudices and negative attitudes, and unfortunately many people living with HIV still experience stigma and discrimination within healthcare settings in NHSGGC.
Here you will find information on the work we are doing to tackle and reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination within NHSGGC.
We have been working closely with people living with HIV to create new resources and a staff campaign. This is the story of how through collaborative working we hope to put and end to stigma within our services.
Stigma is usually based on fear, ignorance and prejudice. Misconceptions and a lack of knowledge about HIV and how it is transmitted contribute to stigma.
While stigma is found in a person’s attitude or beliefs, discrimination is about their behaviour. Discrimination means treating one person differently from another based on their characteristics. Examples HIV patients report include:
Have you experienced or seen HIV stigma or discrimination taking place within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) health services? If you have we want to hear about your experience. This could be any service from primary care to hospital appointments, especially if it is not related to HIV care. It could have happened any time in the last 3 years.
You may have had direct experience or wish to let us know on behalf of someone else; you may have experienced staff treating a patient living with HIV in a discriminatory manner or, as a member of staff you feel that a procedure you have been told to follow causes stigma for those living with HIV.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember all the details just tell us as much as you can. Collecting these experiences helps us to work together to ensure people living with HIV are treated with the dignity, compassion and respect that all patients in NHSGGC can expect.
You can complete the form anonymously. However, if you would like the HIV Peer Support Manager to discuss the incident further including how to make a formal complaint please make sure you enter your contact details.
You can give feedback on your experience of care or treatment within the NHS through Care Opinion.
In October 2023, the national HIV Stigma Campaign launched. Its tv ad was the first major new TV advert on HIV to air in Scotland since the UK Government’s ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ campaign featuring falling tombstones aired 40 years ago. It was a decades overdue update on the huge medical progress in the fight against HIV.
In 1987 the advert’s message was ‘it’s a deadly disease and there’s no known cure’, while this new campaign explains how an HIV diagnosis has transformed since then by highlighting ‘you can live a healthy, happy life just like anyone else’.
The film is informed by Scottish Government funded research from YouGov into attitudes and beliefs about HIV in Scotland and produced by Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity.
New research has found worryingly low levels of knowledge about HIV. Just one third (35%) of people in Scotland would be happy to kiss someone living with HIV, despite it being known since the 1980s that HIV can’t be passed on through saliva.
The data also shows almost half (46%) of people in Scotland would be ashamed to tell other people they were HIV positive – demonstrating just how stigmatised a condition HIV remains today.
A lack of knowledge about how much progress has been made in the fight against HIV in the last 40 years is also clear in the data, with just a third of Scots aware that people living with HIV and on effective treatment can’t pass it on to partners.
The film features four powerful depictions of HIV stigma based on real experiences of people living with HIV in Scotland, including a father pulling his hand away after his daughter says she’s HIV positive and a nurse putting on a second pair of gloves during a hospital appointment.
The film concludes with the message that stigma is more harmful than HIV to encourage all of those watching to think about their role in perpetuating stigma and impacting the lives of people living with HIV.
Last year, the number of heterosexuals newly diagnosed with HIV was higher than in gay and bisexual men in Scotland for the first time in 15 years, according to the latest data from Public Health Scotland. Which is why it is important for everyone to know the realities of HIV and remove barriers to getting tested.
Alongside providing up-to-date information about HIV, the campaign aims to tackle the stigma still surrounding the virus.
The reason why stigma is now more harmful than HIV is because of the huge medical progress in treating HIV. Treatment works by suppressing levels of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels, which means the immune system is protected from damage and HIV cannot be passed on to partners. But a lack of knowledge about this progress fuels stigma, negatively impacts people living with HIV and makes others too scared to get tested.
The campaign was developed in partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Public Health Scotland, University of Strathclyde, Waverley Care, Our Positive Voice and Scottish Drugs Forum. It was then produced by award-winning Scottish agency Stand, which was behind Police Scotland’s high profile ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign to reframe the conversation on sexual violence and male sexual entitlement. It’s hoped this new campaign will result in important discussions about the realities of HIV today.
For more information about HIV and wo watch the campaign video visit www.hivstigma.scot
The campaign focused on challenging and changing the knowledge, skills and attitudes NHSGGC staff have towards people living with HIV. The campaign consisted of marketing and resources such as posters and leaflets, interviews with HIV+ people and specialist staff in staff magazines, road shows to major NHSGGC sites and a host of other initiatives. All this has been created through working directly and collaboratively with people who are living with HIV. Thomas, a Brownlee Patient Forum member had this to say about it:
“This work is vital as HIV+ people can experience stigma, in some shape or form, sometimes on an almost daily basis. What we are doing is innovative, it’s exciting and a totally different approach from anything I have never seen anywhere in the NHS. It shows that NHSGGC are taking this issue seriously and they are determined to eradicate stigma in whatever form it takes. The approach taken by the Board to do this has to be applauded.”
One of the key driving forces throughout the whole campaign has been local people living with HIV. Their involvement and direction has led to the creation of two very innovative pieces of work.
One being drama videos Patient Power and the other the Patients’ Toolkit
The Brownlee HIV Patient Forum felt strongly that, in addition to the staff-facing campaign, something should be done to support patients to help them to challenge stigma and discrimination. Often described as ‘the look’ a ‘gut feeling’ or by ‘recognising the anxiety’ in the other person, they suggested that empowering patients to effectively challenge this directly was required.
They created a booklet titled ‘HIV Stigma – A resource for people living with HIV when attending healthcare services’. It uses examples and scenarios and suggests ways that these situations might be resolved. View or download the PDF booklet.
You can subscribe to the mailing list for more details on this and other work the Forum does please email ggc.brownlee.hiv@nhs.scot.
One of the key driving forces throughout the whole campaign has been the Brownlee patients themselves. Their involvement and direction has led to the creation of two innovative pieces of work.
When exploring and developing ideas to tackle HIV Stigma the Brownlee HIV Patient Forum suggested that drama might be an excellent way to reflect and validate HIV+ people’s lived experiences. Collaborating with Scottish Youth Theatre we have produced four short dramatic scenes that were developed by a BAFTA award winning writer and Brownlee Centre patients.
All the dramatic clips and one detailing how we developed them can be found on the YouTube videos below.
Have you experienced or seen HIV stigma or discrimination taking place within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) health services? Have you or someone else been treated differently or with a lack of respect because you/they are living with HIV? If you have we want to hear about your experience.
This could be any health service in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, we hope and probably not related to HIV care. It could have happened any time in the last 3 years.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember all the details just tell us as much as you can.
Collecting these experiences helps us to work together to ensure people living with HIV are treated with the dignity, compassion and respect that all patients in NHSGGC can expect.
There are several ways to feedback the experience:
We advise that in the first instance, you speak to the person or team responsible if you are not happy with your treatment, or the treatment of someone you care about. For example, this can the nurse in charge of a ward, or the practice manager at a GP surgery.
The peer support engagement manager can support you to do this.
We have developed a stigma reporting form [REDEVELOP THE FORM IN M365 FORMS] that the peer support engagement manager views so they can support you. They will contact you if the contact details have been completed however you can complete the form anonymously.
It is important to note that if you do not give contact details you will not receive a direct response to the specific issues you raise, however your comments will be used to drive forward change.
Patients and families can use Care Opinion site to provide anonymous feedback about their experiences. The incidents are reviewed by the Patient Experience and Public Involvement Team at NHSGGC who will feedback incidents to service managers. You will receive a response from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
You can watch ‘Care Opinion in 2 minutes‘, a short video explaining how it works.
You can give feedback whether good or bad, in a confidential user friendly way to the NHS GGC Patient Experience Public Involvement Team. You simply complete the form found on the NHS GGC website with as much information as you can and the PEPI team will make sure this goes to the right services. It is that you will not receive a direct response to the specific issues you raise, however your comments will be used to drive forward change.
The person affected or someone on their behalf can make a formal complaint.
The advice is that you speak to the person or team in the first instance and then escalate if you are not happy with the outcome. The complaints team can help you to do this if you need help. They can give you advice about where to get independent help in making your complaint.
