Transformation Partners in Health and Care > Our partnerships work > Fast-Track Cities initiative > Fast-Track Cities HIV improvement fund projects working towards the 2030 ambitions

Fast-Track Cities HIV improvement fund projects working towards the 2030 ambitions

London has launched the 12 projects that have been awarded grants from the new Fast-Track Cities HIV improvement fund. You can read a summary of the 12 projects below.

The launch coincides with the two-year anniversary of London committing to the Fast-Track Cities global initiative to end HIV by 2030. Read the media release here.

The fund which launched in October, offers grants to tackle HIV testing, ensure more people with HIV stay on treatment and support more people with HIV to live well. The aim, as always with Fast-Track Cities work, is to build on and complement all the excellent existing work in London.

Read more about the improvement fund application process here.

The Fast-Track Cities Leadership Group received forty bids from a range of organisations and collaborations from across London. The standard of the bids was high, and the total funds requested exceeded £3 million against a budget of £1 million per year.

The projects are all led by voluntary organisations and include a number of innovative collaborations with other community and voluntary organisations, the NHS and Local Authority services.

The successful bids aim to support many of the more complex, vulnerable or marginalised groups; immigrants, homeless people, people with substance misuse issues, people from black and minority ethnic populations, women, younger people, people who are socially isolated and various faith groups. Where possible the panel also considered geographical spread of services.

Below is a summary of the projects with all the involved partner organisations. We will update this website with more details as the projects and the improvement community develops.

If you would like any further information then please email us at hlp.londonftci@nhs.net

 

HIV improvement fund projects

Africa Advocacy

Working with Waldron Sexual Health Centre, Alexis Clinic, Trafalgar Clinic and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. Project will accelerate HIV screening for people in homeless shelters, vulnerable refugees, migrants and displaced individuals.

Living Well

Working with London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust and various local voluntary sector partners. Project will use community outreach, drop-in sessions and personal care planning, plus case work, coaching groups and workshops (e.g. for benefits or back to work etc.) to tackle loneliness and social isolation.

Read a case study about how Living Well launched the Connect Well service during the COVID-19 pandemic here.

METRO Charity

Working with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Project will support HIV positive young mothers and pregnant women to stay on treatment and identify and treat patients lost to services, which is very common in this patient group, particularly women from black and minority ethnic populations.

Sophia Forum

Working with Positively UK, NAM and University College London. Project will raise awareness of the impact of aging among women with HIV, providing information and support, acting as a signpost to relevant services. Work will develop a women and aging support programme with peer-mentor training.

GMI Partnership

GMI Partnership (METRO Charity, Spectra and Positive East) working with Doctors of the World UK, Haringey Migrant Support Centre and Voice of Domestic Workers. Project will work on early diagnosis and testing focusing on black and ethnic minority communities using a mobile bus with on-board clinic room, pop-up testing, plus social media and education for migrant and non-English speaking populations.

Change Grow Live

Working with Lewisham and Greenwich HIV Services, King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’, Bart’s NHS Trust, Mortimer Market clinic, Royal Free Hospital and other HIV clinics across London boroughs. Project will develop targeted support and care co-ordination for vulnerable people (particularly those affected by acute or long-term substance misuse issues), to help people engage with and stay on treatment. Project will also build capacity in the system by delivering training and producing a substance misuse and HIV toolkit.

Positive East

Working with BHRUT (Outpatients East HIV Clinic), Bart’s NHS Trust (Graham Hayton Unit, Greenway Clinic and Sir Ludwig Guttman Centre) and Homerton University Hospital (Jonathan Mann Unit). Project will develop peer support scheme using assessment tool in five HIV clinics in north east and east London, with a focus on specific groups of people with unmet needs or lost to follow up, for example over 50s, women, people from black and ethnic minority communities and young adults.

METRO Charity

Working with King’s College Hospital NHS Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Trust. Project will develop mentor schemes working within clinical teams in health services, outpatients and hospital wards to focus on complex and vulnerable patients who have poor engagement with their care. Will use a whole person approach to reduce mortality rates and ill health, increase viral suppression and support better HIV management.

Positively UK

Working with NAZ Project, Plus Health and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust. Project will use the Chelsea and Westminster HIV care pathway to offer peer delivered support, targeted to individual needs of those lost or most likely to be lost to follow up treatment (e.g. women, younger adults, black and ethnic minority groups and trans people). Will aim for better adherence to treatment, understanding of condition, reduction of loneliness and increasing connections with others.

NAM (aidsmap)

Working with Africa Advocacy Foundation. Project will focus on early diagnosis and testing in Black African communities, training a group of Positive Champions, creating educational videos and conducting on the spot testing in a range of locations in south east London.

NAZ

Working with Africa Advocacy Foundation and Jewish Aids Trust. Project will work with faith leaders in churches, mosques and synagogues to create positive messaging about HIV, with a focus on testing in faith environments and creating a faith-based network of testers.

Positively UK

Working with HIV clinics, local voluntary sector partners and London based immigration advisers. Project will work through 12 HIV clinics across London to offer a mixture of welfare advice, one to one benefits support, quarterly workshops and skills training to increase financial resilience. Project will include a dedicated welfare advisor, signposting to local voluntary sector partners and other Positively UK caseworkers.