22 November 2023

Monday 27 November marks the start of the third annual PrEP Awareness Week. The initiative, led by 56 Dean Street, raises awareness of PrEP. PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, a medication that protects people who are HIV negative from acquiring HIV, and is up to 99% effective when taken correctly.

PrEP is available free to anyone who thinks they may be at increased risk of HIV. This includes many gay, bi, and other men-who-have-sex-with-men and their sexual partners; trans women and their sexual partners; queer people; sex workers; and anyone whose sexual partners come from parts of the world with higher rates of HIV, such as many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Book a PrEP appointment in London online here: A Quick Guide to PrEP | CNWL Sexual Health Services

PrEP pin badges

PrEP pin badge This PrEP Awareness Week, CNWL’s Sexual Health Services will be promoting our PrEP pin badges, a peer education campaign that began last year and which has now seen over 3,000 badges distributed to PrEP patients, advocates and health and social care staff across London and Surrey. The badges are intended as a symbol of PrEP that sparks conversations in the community, ensuring as many potential PrEP beneficiaries as possible hear about the medication and how to access it.

New online PrEP Service in London

PrEP Awareness Week also coincides with the launch of CNWL’s new Online PrEP Service, the first in England by an NHS provider.

The service allows existing PrEP patients, who are clinically eligible and resident in the North Central London boroughs of Camden, Islington, Haringey, and Barnet, to access PrEP using an online form, with a 6-month supply of PrEP mailed out or available to click and collect at Mortimer Market Centre. 

The service will maximise convenience for patients and increase capacity within the service, making sure more people can benefit from PrEP.

NCL PrEP Lead, Dominic Reilly said, “We know from speaking to our patients that many of them want to access their ongoing supply of PrEP medication as conveniently as possible. With this online service, many of our patients will be able to come into clinic just once a year for routine monitoring, with the added benefit of freeing up capacity for us to see new PrEP patients and ensure as many people as possible can benefit from this game-changing HIV prevention tool”.

How to order PrEP in Surrey

If you live in Surrey and would like to start PrEP or need a repeat prescription, call the Surrey Sexual Health Service for an appointment on 01483 675389, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.00pm or visit the website here: www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk  

Where to find us during PrEP Awareness Week

During PrEP Awareness Week, CNWL’s Outreach Team in London and Surrey will be visiting community venues with information about PrEP.

PrEP Outreach Workers will be available to discuss PrEP, book PrEP appointments in CNWL’s clinics, and provide informational and promotional resources, including our ‘Quick Guide to PrEP’ Outreach Workers also provide condom and lube packs, and HIV point-of-care testing so that members of the public can test for HIV, with an instant result generated using just a finger-prick sample of blood.

  • Monday 27 November 9am-1pm at College of North East London (CONEL) Tottenham Campus promoting PrEP and offering HIV and STI testing on site
  • Wednesday 29 November 5pm-6pm Instagram Live from Mortimer Market Centre– presented by CNWL’s PrEP Lead and Mortimer Market Charge Nurse, Ellie Chisholm
  • Thursday 30 November 11am-2pm at the Rainbow Room @ London Metropolitan University 166-220 Holloway Road (London Met queer safe space opens its doors - London Metropolitan University) promoting PrEP and offering HIV and STI testing on site.
  • Thursday 30 November 5pm-8pm at Village Soho, our mobile clinic will be starting people on PrEP
  • In Surrey our team will be at East Surrey College on 1 December
  • Friday 1 December, our PrEP Community Outreach team will be joining Brook and the Middlesex University LGBTQ+ Society for World AIDS Day outreach at Middlesex University, Rickett Quadrangle, The Burroughs and London NW4 4BF. We’ll be discussing PrEP, booking appointments, giving away PrEP goodies, and Brook will be offering instant result HIV tests on site.

PrEP is used to reduce the risk of getting HIV.

PrEP is a medication taken by people who are HIV-negative to stop them contracting HIV. It is up to 99% effective when taken correctly.  PrEP works by stopping the HIV virus from entering the cells in the body that it uses to reproduce itself.  In this way, if someone is taking PrEP correctly and they are exposed to HIV, it can’t become established in the body, and they would remain negative.

PrEP Awareness Week, is a great time to check out the Quick Guide to PreP:  https://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/prep/

PrEP awareness week is a time to encourage people to consider their risk of HIV, help them to learn about PrEP and find their local service so they can start benefiting from PrEP.

PrEP is for anyone at increased risk of acquiring HIV. Follow link for examples of types of people who may be at increased risk of acquiring HIV:

https://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/prep/

PrEP is available, for free from CNWL in London and Surrey.

In Surrey, if you would like to start PrEP or need a repeat prescription, call the Surrey Sexual Health Service. (CNWL) for an appointment on 01483 675389, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.00pm.

In London order online or in a clinic, visit the website here: www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk