Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) is planning to organize workshops for doctors attached to area and district hospitals in the state on issues concerning AIDS and HIV positive cases.

According to APSACS officials, there were complaints that patients were not properly counseled and guided by doctors at these hospitals. It has been reported that as soon as someone is reported HIV positive, he/she is declared an AIDS patient and is not counseled properly. In fact, an HIV positive person becomes an AIDS patient in 8-10 years and he can be cured with proper counseling and care.

The HIV patients at most of the district hospitals are told that they have no chance of survival because of which they lose confidence and go into a depression. Besides imparting training on proper counseling, the doctors would be instructed not to tell the HIV patients that there was no chance of survival. The doctors who will attend the workshop will, in turn, train those posted at the primary health centres in an effort to take the concept of care and counseling to the mandal and village level.

The workshop will stress the importance of Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centres (VCTCs) during the training. The fact that these centres are not only for testing but also for counseling will be taught to all the participants. This will ensure that pre-test and post-test counseling are done at all VCTCs as per the guidelines set by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).