NEW HIV tests will be available for Swindon residents.

The home-testing kits can be ordered online, with any positive test results referred to doctors at Great Western Hospital. The kits have been funded by the council.

In Swindon, the number of people diagnosed with HIV has fallen over recent years – from 20 diagnoses in 2011 to nine in 2015.

By the end of March this year, 289 people living in Swindon were receiving treatment for the disease.

In the UK, most cases of HIV are caused through unprotected sex. The virus attacks the immune system, weakening the body’s ability to fight diseases.

Treatment for HIV has improved significantly, with antiretroviral drugs fighting the virus and reducing the risk of passing on the disease.

According to official data from Public Health England, 61.5 per cent of HIV diagnoses between 2013-15 were “late diagnoses” – well above the national average of 40 per cent.

Getting diagnosed late puts those suffering from HIV at greater risk of ultimately dying from the disease – as well as meaning they’re more likely to have passed the disease on to others.

Swindon Borough Council have urged people to order an online HIV testing kit.

Coun Brian Ford, cabinet member for adults’ health and social care, said: “It is highly important that anyone who feels they may need to take a HIV test does so as soon as possible in order to prevent late diagnoses.”

To order a kit, visit www.test.hiv or contact the Great Western Sexual Health Clinic on 01793 604038.