BRITISH DAY CENTRE FOR HIV PATIENTS OPENS
The Kobler Centre, the first day centre of its kind i n Britain offering advice, assessment and treatment for HIV positive patients, opened its doors at St Stephen's Hospital in Fulham, London on July 4.
The aim of the centre is to enable HIV positive people to stay in the community for as long as possible, through the provision of outpatient monitoring, treatment and investigations on a day care basis.
It will also relieve some of the extra inpatient demands which have been placed on the hospital in recent years as the country's leading centre for the treatment of people with AIDS.
Up to 18 patients will be seen each day at the centre, which is part of a six storey development at the hospital. Over 12,000 patients will be seen each year in the outpatients clinic and 4,500 a year in the day centre.
The £4 million cost of the centre has been funded jointly by Riverside Health Authority and the Charity CRUSAID, whose original offer of funding provided the stimulus for the scheme.
CRUSAID have appointed interior designers, Derek Frost Associates to assist in the design of the main waiting areas and local artists have been commissioned to design windows to enhance the appearance of the centre so that it provides a warm and relaxed environment for patients, their friends and relatives.