Dean Street Express

Making a Molehill out of a Mountain

Like most gay men, I know the importance of being tested regularly and I, like many others, find it really daunting each time I am done. However, I was really surprised how stress-free and almost pleasurable my first visit to DSE was. The reception is bright and colourful and someone was on hand to show me the terminals and explain how to register. All of the awkward questions were answered by pressing a button rather than talking and, once registered I was handed my test kit and went off to a nicely apportioned room where a helpful video guided me through taking the samples and swabs I needed. My specimens disappeared through a vacuum tube to be analysed while I went downstairs for the finger and blood tests. Here, once again a pleasant surprise awaited as one of the friendliest people I've ever met came and took me into her office for the tests. She explained everything that was happening and was a very calming influence on me as we did the necessary. We had a brief talk about things and, although the message was pretty obvious, at no point did I feel I was being lectured or patrionised. The HIV result was pretty much instantaneous and the rest of the results were texted to me within a few hours. This was a great experience and whether its your first ever test or you are a veteran then DSE is to my mind definitely the place I would recommend.