Sexual health services will be available online and in local pharmacies under changes to further improve quality and offer more convenient, easier to use services.
Improvements to sexual health services in Haringey and across London will see information, advice, testing and treatment for a range of conditions available online 24 hours a day, as well as a host of services at clinics, pharmacies and GP practices.
The first wave of changes, from early July, will see new sexual health provider Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) take on services for Haringey residents. For young people aged under-25, contraception and STI screening will be available at community clinics in the borough.
For over-25s, state-of-the art facilities for sexual health testing and treatment will be available at the highly rated Archway Clinic and Mortimer Market Centre in Islington and Camden, or at North Middlesex Hospital.
A team of 32 Haringey pharmacies will bolster local services by supplying free condoms, emergency contraception, STI testing and, in some locations, instant HIV testing. In addition, local charity Embrace UK will offer community-based STI testing and free condoms, while 18 local GP practices will offer long term reversible contraception such as IUDs and injections.
Once the new services are up and running, sexual health treatments at St Ann’s hospital, Tynemouth Road Health Centre and Hornsey Central Health Centre will stop – but there will be no gaps in provision while the current service is phased out and the new one implemented.
The new CNWL provision will be followed by the launch of a pan-London online service offering advice, information and access to STI testing.
The changes are part of a London-wide drive to improve quality, further reduce rates of STIs and teenage pregnancies and provide sexual health services that are easy to use and fit in with modern lifestyles – with longer opening hours and reduced waiting times. Haringey, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Barnet and the City of London have joined forces to underline their commitment to delivering better sexual health services across the city.
Cllr Jason Arthur, Haringey Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Health, said:
Teaming up with other boroughs allows us to deliver a modern service that better fits people’s lifestyles, where they want the convenience of online and discreet local services alongside access to specialist services when necessary.
“Offering so many sexual health services online and through local pharmacies means more people will be able to access the support they need, when they need it, in a way that is convenient to them – and without any need to feel sheepish about asking for help.
“We’re delighted that rates of sexually transmitted illnesses are falling in Haringey, but we’re determined to do even more and to offer high-quality services that are quick and easy to use and meet local demand.”
