Tesco Extra is set to take the pain out of waiting for HIV test results  with a new quick and convenient model of testing at one of it’s UK stores. The test, involving a mouth swab, will take one minute to perform and 20 minutes to determine results.

Sexual health charity Thames Valley Positive Support organised the testing centre in order to “normalise” HIV testing.
Sarah Macadam, the charity’s Chief executive told Metro, “Testing in supermarkets has only ever been offered as a one-off event and not on a regular basis…we are extremely pleased that Tesco is so committed to their community’s well-being”.

Slough, which has the third highest rate of HIV infection in the South East outside London, will be the location for the first testing centre. A private room will be set up in the store for six weeks beginning on May 19. The charity is hopeful that it will become a permanent fixture if it is deemed a success.

Public Health England released figures last November revealing that HIV transmission among men who have sex with men was at an all-time high, with 100,000 people in total living in the UK with HIV. 18 per cent of those infected remain unaware of the fact.

National AIDS Trust Director of Policy and Campaigns said of the development, “Anything which encourages people who may not have had a test to have one is a good thing”.