A website offering information for the public and healthcare professionals on HIV and AIDS was launched this week by the National AIDS Trust (NAT), in partnership with Durex.

Information, leaflets and posters can all be downloaded or ordered from the website and could be used in pharmacy branches and sexual health consultations, according to NAT chief executive Deborah Jack.

The website www.hivaware.org.uk has been launched in response to research that showed general knowledge about HIV was declining in the UK, Ms Jack explained.

It is designed to give accurate information so people can protect themselves, and could be a useful source for pharmacy staff and counter assistants.

Durex and NAT are also developing an education resource for healthcare professionals about HIV and AIDS that will be available from World AIDS Day on December 1.  

"We know that people are increasingly happy to speak to pharmacists rather than make an appointment and speak to their GP," Ms Jack said.