Organization: NHS Foundation Trust
Country: United Kingdom
Laura Waters is a consultant physician in HIV and sexual health and has worked in this specialty since 2002. She is HIV lead at Central and North West London NHS Trust, overseeing care for 5,600 people living with HIV, leading a multidisciplinary team that includes peer support workers, specialist nurses and pharmacists. She is chief or principal investigator on several HIV treatment trials and an Honorary Associate Professor at The Institute of Global Health at University College London (UCL).
Laura is the current National Specialty Advisor for HIV, chairing the group that advises NHS England on HIV treatment and care, which includes experts by experience. This role involves close liaison with other national bodies and diplomatic navigation of policies and regulations to promote person-centred care. Laura is the immediate past Chair of the British HIV Association (BHIVA) where she led responses to COVID-19 through liaison with peer support groups, national health agencies and other speciality societies, including the European AIDS Clinical Society. Laura’s current BHIVA roles include conferences co-chair, General Medicine Course co-lead and Diploma in HIV Medicine examiner. Laura sits on the Board of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV and chairs its Patient and Public Panel. She is also the Patient Involvement Officer for the Royal College of Physicians. Laura has led or co-authored several national HIV guidelines, including those on HIV treatment, statins, HIV testing, post-exposure prophylaxis and sexual and reproductive health.
Laura has published and presented widely, including at IAS conferences, and shares real-time conference updates on social media. Laura teaches regularly at local, regional and national level, including on HIV courses for UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Laura founded the People First Charter in 2021 to promote person-centred language in HIV care and research. She is a champion for stigma-free, evidence-based care for all people affected by HIV and is passionate about accessibility, from access to services to untangling and sharing data, and prides herself on being an accessible, honest, voluble and enthusiastic clinician.