Clinical nurse specialists

The HIV clinical nurse specialist (CNS) team aims to provide seamless holistic care to all patients attending Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who are HIV positive. 

The CNS team recognise the life-changing nature of HIV and the fear and stigma attached to its diagnosis. We offer support throughout your diagnosis and aim to help you to live as healthily as possible with HIV. 

We recognise the difficulty you may face in disclosing your HIV status to your family, partners, employers and larger community, and we offer support throughout such issues using up-to-date, valid and supportive information.

We also ensure that you are linked to appropriate social, community and financial support, helping you to feel empowered about your condition. The service provides a holistic approach and we are mindful of our patients' diverse cultural and social backgrounds when liaising with external agencies, whether they are voluntary or statutory. 

We also ensure you feel involved in and informed about any treatment regime you start, recognising the individual commitment required and difficulty that can be faced in starting such regimes.  

The clinical nurse specialist team can help you with the following:

  • Link you into Wharfside clinic HIV services
  • Information about antiretroviral treatment
  • Support to manage any treatment side effects
  • If you are finding it difficult to take the antiretroviral treatment
  • Disclosing HIV to partners/family/friends
  • Partner HIV testing and support
  • Support with adjusting to an HIV diagnosis and referral onto counselling or psychology services
  • Access to statutory or voluntary services to help you live well
  • Advice on healthy living and referrals to smoking cessation support, exercise programs and dietary advice
  • Sexual health advice, contraception advice, conception advice and appropriate onward referrals

To access the Clinical Nurse Specialist team you can:

  • Ask your clinic doctor for a referral
  • Make an appointment to see a nurse specialist at Wharfside clinic reception
  • Directly contact the nurse specialist team on 0203 312 6733