Prior to your appointment, please check how much medication you have left. Please discuss how you receive your medications with your clinician during your appointment. Please note pharmacy opening times.
Pharmacy Opening Times
- Monday: 9.30am-12.00pm, 2.30pm-4.30pm
- Tuesday: 9.30am-12.00pm
- Wednesday: 3.30pm-6.00pm
- Thursday: 9.30am-12.00pm
- Friday: 9.30am-12.00pm
Please make sure you have at least 2 weeks supply of medication and contact us if you have less than this.
If you have your medication delivered through our home delivery service, please ensure you have least 2 weeks of medications at the time of your appointment. Fairview Home delivery service requires 10 days’ notice for delivery. Should you wish to sign up to home delivery, please speak to a member of the HIV or Pharmacy Team for more information.
If you usually collect medications from the clinic, please decide a pick-up date with your clinician during your appointment to pre-book your appointment to reduce waiting times. You will need to have a pre-booked appointment for Pharmacy to collect your medication. Anyone without an appointment may not be seen.
If you are running low on your HIV medications, please call 020 8138 2355, we will then book you for collection of your medication.
If someone needs to collect your medication from clinic for you, they will need your name and date of birth.
Injectable treatments
The NHS now provides injectable HIV treatment for people who are eligible. This long-acting regimen consists of two injections, cabotegravir and rilpivirine. The injections are given into muscles in the hip every two months.
Injection treatment is not suitable for everyone. You will not be eligible if:
- You have known or suspected resistance to cabotegravir or rilpivirine.
- Your viral load is detectable.
- You cannot commit to attending appointments every 2 months.
It is essential to attend injection appointments on time. You can receive your injections up to seven days before or after the due date. Longer delays increase the risk of the virus becoming detectable and developing resistance.
Appointments for the injections can take up to 45 minutes. This appointment includes a blood test and observation time after the injections.
In clinical trials, the viral load became detectable in around 1 in 100 (1%) of people per year. This occurred even when injections were given on time. If this happens, most people develop resistance to one or both drugs. This means you may have to come off injectable therapy.
The most common side effect is injection site discomfort. This usually wears off with time, but other side effects may occur.
For further information about injectable treatment, follow this link:
S_NI_V_R_Patient_Welcome_and_Support_Brochure_electronic_version.pdf
If you would like to discuss injectable treatment, please speak to a member of the HIV care team.
Interactions with other medicines
HIV medicines often interact with other medicines (such as, contraceptives, multivitamins and antibiotics) and products that brought over the counter, including herbal, homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines. This may affect how well the HIV medicines work and may can cause your viral load to become detectable.
If you are newly prescribed medicines by your GP or hospital doctors; or you are thinking of buying any medicinal product over the counter, it is best to contact the Pharmacy department
Important information about switching from branded to generic (unbranded) HIV medication
When the license on a branded HIV drug expires, we often switch to the generic or unbranded medication which is usually significantly less expensive. We will do our best to inform you before your medication changes. Most drugs prescribed on the NHS are generic and are contain medication identical to the branded versions. Although your tablets may look different they will still be just as effective.
If you have any questions about your treatment or contraception, speak to your doctor, specialist nurse or pharmacist.
You can read more about the different medications available to treat HIV below: