I’m not being funny but a major birthday celebration last week went by under the radar. The Kobler Clinic in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital turned 35 years old earlier in the year, which was marked last Wednesday. I had the absolute honour and pleasure to celebrate alongside them, playing a few tunes and joining a panel of experts and patients to chat about what the clinic did for me.
You see, the Kobler Clinic is the reason why I’m still here today, and I will forever be grateful to the long list of incredible doctors, nurses and researchers that have contributed toward its astounding legacy over the years.
Kobler was founded at the height of the HIV epidemic, opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1988. The clinic is the largest specialist HIV unit in Europe and has been at the forefront of HIV treatment for as long as I can remember. I got taken there myself in 2001. Anyone who’s read my book will know how ill I was and what I was going through at that time. Professor Brian Gazzard diagnosed me and immediately got me on treatment. Over time I offered myself up for drug trials, I did whatever small part I could to help fight this illness. We all did what we could.
The stigma associated with HIV was horrendous back then. We had virtually no friends outside of our close circles and the wonderful NHS staff who showed us love and compassion. It became the norm to lose half our friends; I’d lost my partner. I don’t know if younger generations will ever know the plight we faced every single morning we woke up. That’s a double-edged sword in itself. I am so happy and grateful that they won’t know what that means, to know you might lose half the people around you in a matter of months or years. At the same time, education around this is so important. I want generations to come to understand what struggles people faced just to be. I want them to know the battles that were fought by their predecessors — as, heaven knows, we haven’t won all the battles just yet.
We had virtually no people who showed us compassion and it became normal to lose half our friends to the virus
Over the years, the Kobler Clinic has treated thousands upon thousands of patients. They’re our unsung heroes and I am so happy to be able to use this platform to give a little thanks on behalf of our community. Due to access to prevention treatment, “men who have sex with men” are no longer the most exposed category. Not many people know that. The good fight won’t be won, however, until the number of new diagnoses is down to zero.
A true pioneer, and one of the earliest to commit to the eradication of HIV/Aids on a global scale, is Elton John. Through the Elton John Aids Foundation, Elton and his team have contributed in ways people can’t imagine. The foundation has saved an estimated five million lives over the years but its contribution goes even deeper than that. It has long been a voice for people living with HIV, and governments listen. George W Bush’s ambitious PEPFAR global initiative was supported by Elton and he and his team are always there to keep pushing nations to continue funding this fight.
He recently spoke to parliament and laid out the ambitious goal of making the UK “the first country in the world to defeat this awful virus”, by 2030 — and I think that’s truly possible.
Speaking to young doctors at the Kobler’s birthday last week, I understood how important technology and communication are now that treatment and prevention tools are readily available. While an all-out cure still needs to be found, we see that digitising the process of getting treatment will be revolutionary, allowing for ease of access to professionals and to medication.
The Klick app was introduced as a pilot by Kobler in 2018 and now sees more than 2,000 monthly active users. I truly believe that we’re well on our way and we can all do our part in killing this virus and killing the stigma. This is a lesson to not judge others so harshly. Look to your left, look to your right — ask someone how they’re doing today. Trust me, showing someone you care can go further than you think.
On that note, my song of the week is very fitting. Space Jams — Together Again (TMB Edit). See you next year.
