I was diagnosed HIV positive in November 2002. My HIV care was based at North Manchester Hospital, which is where the North West Regional HIV and AIDS centre is based. In the summer of 2001 I was asked to attend the hospital for a lactulose test.

I had been having digestive problems for some time and the test was to see if there were any problems. The digestive problems were not related at all to my HIV status, I am asymptomatic and have never been on any HIV medication.

The lactulose test involves blowing into a glass tube, on several occasions, over a two or three hour period. When I was called in by the nurse she told me the doctor wanted to 'have a word' about the test.

The doctor told me he was not able to carry out the test on that day and referred to my status as someone who is HIV positive. I asked why he was aware of my status, as I had gone to the hospital for a procedure completely unrelated to my status. He said that my file, which included my status, would be available to any doctor in the hospital who was treating me.

I asked the doctor why he could not carry out the test and he said he wanted to be sure that all of the appropriate health and safety measures were covered and that he had a duty to consider other patients. I asked the doctor which particular health and safety measures were of concern in relation to the test. He did not give me an answer but repeated what he had already said about the need to ensure health and safety issues were covered.

I asked the doctor if he thought that the breath test posed any risk, to other patients, in relation to HIV transmission and, again, he repeated that he had to be sure that health and safety procedures were fully covered.

I told the doctor that I thought his response was unsatisfactory and that he had not given me a proper explanation as to why I could not take the breath test. I rang the Chairman of Body Positive North West, Ed McConiffe, who rang the hospital regarding what had happened. Ed advised me to make a formal complaint on the basis that I had been treated unfairly due to my HIV status.

I received a reply to my complaint, which apologised for the upset caused. The response included an apology on behalf of the consultant who had refused to treat me and assured me that the hospital took my complaint seriously and would ensure that other patients did not have similar experiences. I could have pursued my complaint but decided not to.

I don't think the hospital's response was adequate and made no mention of training implications, for non-specialist HIV staff, to receive appropriate training in relation to HIV transmission. I was content that I had raised an important issue and hope it might prevent anything similar happening in the future. I was shocked at the doctor's treatment and his ignorance of HIV transmission but the incident has had no lasting effects on me.

It could have been much worse if I was someone who was already ill with HIV and on medication. This type of discrimination can be the final straw for some people.