HIV / AIDS

St. Paul's was one of the first hospitals in Canada to treat HIV/AIDS patients - and today it is one of the world's leading clinical and research centres for this disease, providing care to more than 65% of the seropositive people in the province. A 25-bed ward provides care to inpatients receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS and its complications. Outpatients are served through the John Ruedy Immunodeficiency Clinic.

The hospital is home to the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the Canadian HIV Trials Network. The Centre for Excellence provides education to health care providers, conducts natural history and observational studies, develops innovative laboratory tests, and carries out clinical trials. Its drug program is at the core of the Centre's activities. HIV-positive persons living in British Columbia receive their antiretroviral drugs free of charge when in enrolled in this program.

Since 1986, thousands of HIV-positive persons have received antiretroviral therapy at St. Paul's, and the hospital's residency program was the first in Canada to give physicians the opportunity to learn about treating this complex disease.

St. Paul’s Hospital now offers point of care HIV testing for patients, staff, and/or visitors. This rapid, confidential, and free HIV test provides the same accuracy as the conventional blood test and gives you your results within 60 seconds. The tests are made available through the BC Provincial initiative “Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS” (also known as STOP HIV/AIDS). Testing is available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For a point of care HIV test call 604-561-4896. A certified HIV nurse will answer the call and arrange a time and place for a discrete, confidential, rapid, and free HIV test. Click here for more information.

HIV Testing While in Hospital
Health Canada estimates that one quarter of Canadians who are HIV positive don't know that they have HIV. And of those who are diagnosed, 60 per cent of them become aware of their infection after they should already be on treatment. As of October 3, 2011, as part of the "Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention (STOP) of HIV/AIDS" pilot project, all physicians and residents began offering their admitted patients (excluding psychiatry, palliative & Intensive Care Unit patients) at St. Paul's Hospital and Mount Saint Joseph Hospital an HIV test with their routine bloodwork.

Click here for more information.

Looking for an outpatient service? Click here.