Enhanced Sex Health Clinics at Colleges Success

By Paul Whitehouse

Two enhanced clinics have already been operating as a pilot scheme under a project called Opening Doors operated by Sheffield Contraception and Sexual Health Service and have been regarded as a success.As a result, more are to follow and it is hoped they will contribute to reducing the number of pregnancies among the young, and also improvements in other areas of sexual health, by placing services where they are easy for teenagers to reach.Outreach clinics had previously been operating at Norton and Castle colleges, where the Open Doors pilots have been run, but have been improved to allow young people to seek advice and guidance about relationships, sexual health, contraception and chlamydia screening.The clinics are staffed by family planning nurses and operate lunchtime sessions, aimed at being convenient to students wanting help.”The Opening Doors scheme is great because it will take contraception and sexual health services to young people who often find it difficult or embarrassing to attend adult-orientated clinics,” said Dr Tracey Dibble, of Sheffield Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is behind the scheme.”It’s proven to help and we’re excited about its prospects.”Confidentiality is very important to us; the clinics are situated within the student support services building so students should have no fear of being identified.”The nurses work to devise the best plan for each student who seeks care and help them make informed choices. They are qualified to give personal counselling and can administer contraception where necessary.There are wide variations across Sheffield in teenage conception rates and the proportion of conceptions which end in abortion these are both associated with levels of deprivation. The 20 per cent most deprived neighbourhoods have teenage conception rates over six times that of the 20 per cent least deprived neighbourhoods.Teenage pregnancy can lead to low birthweight, higher death rates, cervical cancer and the possibility of being caught in the poverty trap.Sheffield PCT aims to add a further two clinics over the next year, one of which will be at Hillsborough College. “We hope to cover all the further education colleges because we know that young people are more likely to attend services when they are within college settings,” said Dr Dibble.The move follows a successful pilot scheme by York PCT using a similar scheme to reduce teenage pregnancies, which cost the NHS 63m a year.

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