SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, May 23. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Primary Care Management of Tenerife, attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, has presented the ‘Screening Point’ pilot project, which aims to increase the early detection of HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). on the island of Tenerife.
This initiative is already being developed in hospital emergency services, thus extending the screening network to health centers.
The pilot will consist of three referral points for taking samples located in the Normal Emergency Service of Puerto de la Cruz and the health centers of La Cuesta and San Isidro, to cover the northern, metropolitan and southern areas of the island, respectively.
Patients referred from health centers will be sent to these units, both from the Primary Care teams and from the Normal Emergency Services and Continuous Care Points, details the Ministry in a note.
This project follows the objectives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the recommendations of the HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis and Tuberculosis control division of the Ministry of Health, among which includes promoting the offer of HIV testing through serology under certain circumstances in the different health services.
TRAINING DAYS
The presentation of the pilot project has taken place in two training days, held on May 10 and 17, in the assembly hall of the Primary Care Management of Tenerife, and which have had the participation of 180 professionals, with Care personnel Primary School and the Public Health Epidemiology Service, among others.
At the event, the medical director of the Primary Care Management of Tenerife, Clara Gironés, and the deputy director of Nursing, Félix González, highlighted the importance of this initiative for reinforcing the early detection of these diseases on the island from the field of health centers.
In this line, they explained that the objective is that, thanks to the early detection of these pathologies, the necessary treatments can be started early, thus improving the quality of life of patients.
The president of the Canary Islands Society of Infectious Diseases (SOCAEI), Ricardo Pelazas, also spoke at these conferences, who addressed the dimension of the HIV problem in the Canary Islands and the importance of early detection; and the vice president of the Spanish Society of Emergency and Emergency Medicine (SEMES) in the Canary Islands and Doctor of the SNU Tíncer, Miguel Benito, who explained the recommendations for early diagnosis of HIV and the ‘Leave your mark’ program, in which he participates SEMES at the national level and which has the objective of improving the recruitment of users and the early detection of people infected with HIV who are unaware of their serological status.
During the presentation, the project coordinators, Marta Gómez and Jorge Domínguez, explained how the service works, which patients it is aimed at, as well as the steps and professionals involved in the referral process to the three points for sample collection, which they are already operational.
EARLY DETECTION IN EMERGENCY SERVICES
In the field of Emergencies, this action represents an extension of the automated system launched by the SCS in clinical history for the early detection of HIV in hospital emergency services, aimed at patients presenting clinical symptoms related to the disease.
With this project, diagnosis is made more accessible for a certain profile of patients who are not users of Primary Care services in which the early detection test for sexually transmitted diseases is carried out.
With this initiative, a computer tool is implemented in the public hospitals of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with the expectation of gradually extending it to all health areas.
The University Hospital of La Palma already has a protocol for early detection in the Emergency Services of patients with HIV.
RAPID TEST FOR EARLY DETECTION OF HIV AND OTHER STIs
Likewise, Health and various NGOs are collaborating on a project to carry out rapid tests for the early detection of HIV and other STIs.
To this end, the General Directorate of Public Health of the Canary Islands Health Service, responsible for the AIDS Plan in the Canary Islands, coordinates a Program for the early detection of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) by carrying out rapid tests in community settings. , an action that it develops in collaboration with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other collaborating entities throughout the archipelago.
Thus, the Program for early detection of HIV through rapid tests for HIV, Hepatitis C and Syphilis in community settings has been carried out since September 2010.
The objective is to promote accessibility to testing for HIV and other STIs for the target population and to facilitate early diagnosis of people with HIV.
