LGBT History Month 2024 - Under The Scope With Dr Chris Ward 

Growing up as a gay man in the 1980s and 90s was a scary time. I remember a lot of fear about HIV and stigma in the media. When I came out to my parents the first thing they mentioned was fear of HIV.

I have always wanted to help the community and when I started at medical school volunteered with the LGF (now LGBT Foundation) to distribute condoms at Pride. By the time I started university, antiretroviral treatment had progressed and highly active combination therapy was already saving lives.

My own experiences with shame around sex and HIV anxiety motivated me to explore sexual health as a career. Working in Infectious Diseases at North Manchester General solidified this.

Now, as a consultant in sexual health and HIV at Hathersage I have been lucky enough to have worked through huge breakthroughs in HIV prevention and treatment.

I remember when the first PrEP trials showed enormous success at reducing HIV transmissions, and the landmark Partners study providing and inspiring the Undetectable=Untransmissable message. This revolutionised people’s lives and helped with anxieties around sex, shame and stigma.

Now we are lucky enough to have multiple different HIV treatments, that are well-tolerated and some come in the form of one pill a day. With injectable treatments we have been able to offer even more options and choice, seeing most people only once every six months.

I enjoy working with patient and community groups like George House Trust. We keep momentum and pressure going to fund sexual health services, we drive forward innovation and new drug developments and we tackle the stigma around HIV that still exists.

Dr Chris Ward, Sexual Health and HIV Consultant for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

2 February 2024