Auckland HIV testing centre opens in new location

PRESS RELEASE: February 18, 2008

Auckland HIV testing centre opens in new location

The Burnett Centre, an Auckland-based HIV testing and counselling facility run by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, is shifting to new premises at 35 Hargreaves St, College Hill.

The new, expanded centre, which has been designed to help ease increasing demands on HIV support services in Auckland, will open its doors on Monday March 10th.

Operations at the current location in Poynton Terrace will cease on Friday February 29th, and the centre will be temporarily closed for the following week in order to move.

The Burnett Centre was the first clinic in Australasia to introduce rapid HIV testing in December 2006. The revolutionary system gives a result within 20 minutes, and increased numbers of people testing at NZAF centres nationwide by two to three hundred percent.

“We have seen much greater numbers of people coming through our doors in the last year,” says Burnett Centre Regional Manager Wayne Otter. “Our new premises leave us with room to expand and hire more staff as demand for our counselling and testing facilities continue to grow.”

The last four years have also seen substantial increases in the number of new HIV diagnoses, particularly among gay and bisexual men. One gay or bisexual man is diagnosed with HIV every five days in New Zealand, with the majority of these diagnoses occurring in the Auckland region.

The Burnett Centre is run by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation’s Positive Health Services, which provide HIV testing and counselling services for all New Zealanders affected by HIV and AIDS, irrespective of age, race, gender or sexual orientation. Phone, fax, and email contact details are remaining the same.

ENDS

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