Towards an inclusive and integrated approach to care delivery for people growing older with HIV

Supporting people growing older with HIV

Advancements in medicine, including anti-retroviral treatments, means that HIV is no longer a life-limiting condition.

As a result, there is a growing population of people ageing with HIV, and more than half of people accessing specialist HIV care in England are now over 50. Older people living with HIV face significant challenges including the impact of long-term care, mental health burden and the prevalence of co-morbidities on an ageing population.

KPMG and Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, recently convened a roundtable to bring together experts across the HIV care, advocacy, industry and policy landscape, to discuss challenges faced by the ageing population living with HIV.

Guillaume Favier PhD

Partner, Healthcare & Life Sciences Strategy and Performance Transformation

KPMG in the UK

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The outputs from this session, including identifying the key challenges and the opportunities to drive improvements in care, have been released in our joint report: ‘Towards an inclusive and integrated approach to care delivery for people growing older with HIV’.

The report calls for mandatory HIV training across health and social care, improved multidisciplinary working, and age-inclusive standards in both clinical and care home settings. It also recommends routine opt-out HIV testing as part of NHS Health Checks for over-40s to improve diagnosis and engagement in care.

The recommendations arrive at a key moment, as the Government prepares a new national HIV Action Plan. The report urges ICSs, care providers and local authorities to work together to make sure older people living with HIV can access joined-up, respectful and informed care.

Towards an inclusive and integrated approach to care delivery for people growing older with HIV

This thought leadership in collaboration with the Terrence Higgins Trust, explores the challenges faced by ageing people living with HIV (PLHIV) and strategies to enhance the management and overall quality of life of an older population living with HIV. It highlights several best practices currently in place to support ageing PLHIV and emphasises the need for HIV training for health and social care professionals, a multidisciplinary approach to care, and enhanced care standards to meet the diverse needs of older PLHIV. The paper advocates for opt-out HIV testing across the UK as part of the NHS over-40 health check and encourages open communication between healthcare professionals and ageing PLHIV to reduce stigma and disengagement from care. Together, these actions aim to ensure that no one living with HIV is left behind.

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For many people living with HIV, the stigma is more harmful than the virus. As this report makes clear, we need action to ensure that everyone ageing with HIV can rely on a care system that understands their needs and treats them with dignity. Too many older people are facing unnecessary barriers because staff aren’t trained, services aren’t joined up, and outdated attitudes persist.

Richard Angell OBE

Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust

Remarkable advances in HIV treatment now mean that people living with HIV can enjoy the same life expectancy as those without, and there’s an inspiring shift towards effective prevention. Yet, as this community ages, it’s vital that our health and social care systems adapt in tandem to meet their evolving needs.

Guillaume Favier

Partner, Healthcare and Life Sciences Strategy at KPMG UK