A note from Melissa Perry, Sexual Health Consultant on #SexualHealthDay

Covid 19 may have dominated the news for the last 6 months health wise but we are continuing to see year on year rises in STI’s (Sexually Transmitted Infections), especially Gonorrhoea and Syphilis.

Rest assured that Northern Trust Sexual Health sexual health services are still very much open to help you.  We have changed how we are operating but the services are working hard to help anyone who contacts us.

The Northern Trust’s Contraceptive and Sexual Health Service is free and open to everyone.  We offer a confidential service which includes access to information and advice, testing, treatment and contraception to people of all ages.

All initial appointments are via telephone and we will help guide you about the appropriate way forward from that initial telephone call.

Home testing
The Trust is operating a pilot project with SH24 to provide home testing kits to anyone who does not have symptoms but would still like to avail of an STI check.  Test kits can be ordered directly and posted to your home.

In the meantime remember:

A lot of STIs are there without you knowing- you might not experience any symptoms such as pain, discharge or rashes.

Test once a year if you have sex with someone of a different gender to you or every 3 months if you are a man who has sex with men.

HIV Prevention – PrEP is available on the NHS in Northern Ireland. We are hoping to be able to provide this soon in Northern Health and Social Care Trust but in the meantime we can facilitate your contact with the Western Health and Social Care Trust to get prompt access to free PrEP on the NHS.

U=U  is  Undetectable is Untransmittable

Anyone living with HIV who is on treatment and has had a Viral Load of less than 200 for 3 months cannot pass their virus on through sexual contact- not through kissing, touching, oral sex or any other type of sex including anal…..there is ZERO risk.

Get in touch:
Sexual Health Services (GUM) Causeway Hospital, Outpatients 2, 4 Newbridge Road, Coleraine, BT52 1HS, Telephone: 028 7034 6028

Contraceptive Services, Telephone: 028 2826 6163

Family planning, Telephone: 028 28266163

 

 

4th September 2020