Despite new cases of HIV in Bracknell reaching a record high, our town does not currently fund the leading HIV charity in Berkshire. 

Deputy CEO of Thames Valley Positive Support Jessica Harding said that they do still support people from Bracknell, but local authorities do not fund them. 

"Although we obviously do support people that are HIV positive from Bracknell, we are not funded to provide any awareness or any support. There aren't any services there," Ms Harding said. 

"This is a real shame with the rise in cases we have seen recently."

The number of new HIV diagnoses in Bracknell Forest reached a record high last year, new figures show.

A spokesperson for the Terrence Higgins Trust, an HIV charity, called the record-high diagnosis rates "sobering", and called for more investment to get tests to those who need them.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows 14 people in Bracknell Forest were newly diagnosed with the disease last year – the highest figure since comparable records began in 2011.

This was equivalent to 10.9 diagnoses per 100,000 people in the area, also the highest figure since 2011.

Ms Harding said that there needs to be more information available about HIV diagnosis to end the stigma. 

"The advances in HIV medication are huge, but unfortunately we haven't really kept pace with attitudes and education," she said. 

"There is still an awful lot of stigma. If a person is taking their medication they cannot pass on HIV to sexual partners. That is massive and such an incredible leap forward!"

Ms Harding went on to say that she feels that there isn't enough recognition for this in the wider public as there hasn't been a campaign since the 80s.

Those ads circulating back then used images of tombstones to warn people of aids, which is an icon Ms Harding says people need to move on from. 

Across England, the new diagnosis rate was 10.4 per 100,000 people in 2023 – almost double the rate from 2020, when diagnoses dropped sharply during the pandemic and the highest figure since 2014.

There were also more people tested for HIV in 2023, with a substantial recovery to 96% of the testing levels in 2019.

This was largely due to a 34% rise in testing for gay and bisexual men, as there was a 10% and 22% decline in testing among heterosexual and bisexual women, and heterosexual men respectively.