Dr Kaveh Manavi, a consultant in HIV medicine at Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital, said the current system misses many people as it only targets high-risk groups, such as gay men and drug users.

Dr Manavi told BBC Radio Five Live: "Target-based HIV tests offering the test to intravenous drug users and gay men is not going to work because individuals may not identify themselves as a risk.

"All the current data suggests a large proportion of patients, in the UK at least, are heterosexual, so we will miss a proportion of HIV-infected patients."

Dr Manavi wants screening to be expanded so more patients are diagnosed early, giving them the opportunity for better treatment and the chance to change their behaviour to reduce the risk of infecting others.

He added: "The sooner an individual is diagnosed with HIV, the higher their likelihood of a better prognosis."

Routine screening is already carried out on pregnant women to minimise the risk of passing on the virus to their babies.