Innovation in HIV nursing: the Liverpool Community Clinic

Abstract

The Liverpool Community Clinic (LCC) was established to address the pressing problem of non-attendance to hospital by people who are living with HIV (PLWH). This group now receives timely, safe and appropriate care while being managed remotely. The aims of the LCC are to reduce hospital admissions, manage side effects, guarantee medication and adherence, identify psychosocial factors that impact on engagement and retention in care, and enable person-centred care incorporating shared decisionmaking. Patients and the HIV community nursing team (HCNT) agree on the frequency of home visits and deliver a wide range of interventions such as: prescribing; treatment starts and switches; venepuncture for monitoring; secondary dispensing; medicine reconciliation; side-effects management; adherence support; diagnosis support; and liaison with multidisciplinary teams. The LCC consists of HIV consultants (infectious diseases or genitourinary medicine) and an HIV community nursing team, who meet monthly to discuss existing and potential patients.