Worcestershire Integrated Sexual Health Service

Please read: Important service information

Appointments

Due to the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19, we have reviewed the way we provide our services to help keep our patients and staff safe. At this time we are not offering a walk-in service at any of our clinics, instead we're offering a telephone triage service. If a clinical need has been identified, you may then be invited to attend a face-to-face appointment. Contact details for each of our clinics can be found on the 'where to go for help' page.

Our online booking service is currently suspended.

Monkey Pox

Monkeypox is a rare infection that's mainly found in parts of west or central Africa. There have been some recent cases in the UK, but the risk of catching it is low.

Although more people have been diagnosed with it recently, only a small number of people in the UK have had monkeypox and the risk remains low.

You're extremely unlikely to have monkeypox if:

you have not been in close contact (such as touching their skin or sharing bedding) with someone who has monkeypox or has monkeypox symptoms
you have not recently travelled to west or central Africa

Anyone can get monkeypox. Currently most cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men, so it's particularly important to be aware of the symptoms if you're in these groups.

Contact a sexual health clinic if:

You have a rash with blisters and either:

you've been in close contact, including sexual contact, with someone who has or might have monkeypox (even if they've not been tested yet) in the past 3 weeks
you've been to west or central Africa in the past 3 weeks

You must contact the clinic before visiting. Tell the person you speak to if you've had close contact with someone who has or might have monkeypox, or if you've recently travelled to central or west Africa.

Do not go to a sexual health clinic without contacting them first. Stay at home and avoid close contact with other people until you've been told what to do.

If you cannot get in touch with a sexual health clinic or need urgent help contact NHS111.

Welcome to Worcestershire Integrated Sexual Health Service

Together we provide friendly, non-judgemental, specialist services across Worcestershire, supporting you to manage your sexual health.

Use the links below to find information on services in your area.

Did you know we are part of the rainbow badge scheme?

Each member of staff that wears one is required to sign a pledge demonstrating their commitment to providing support and signposting to LGBT+ people, and open, non-judgmental care.

If you see a member of our staff, including the Worcestershire Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) team wearing the NHS rainbow badge, you can be confident in speaking to them about who you are, your identity and how you feel.

Our Charter

Together we provide friendly, non-judgemental, specialist services. Supporting you to manage your sexual health. Log-on, call-us, drop-in.

We empower patients to improve their sexual health through education and positive lifestyle changes.

We aspire to be consistently professional in our roles and actively demonstrate this to patients and colleagues.

We feel competent and confident within our roles and supported by colleagues to achieve individual and team objectives.

We value positive praise and constructive feedback which motivates us to strive for excellence.

Our strengths enable us to do our very best. Our patients deserve the excellence we provide.

We encourage each other to raise concerns through the appropriate channels – we know they will be dealt with competently, confidentially and with sensitivity in line with Trust policy.

Information and training for professionals

The education & health promotion team

The sexual health promotion team have a wealth of experience supporting staff working with young and vulnerable people. We help plan relationship & sexual health education curriculum for schools and colleges. We provide staff training on topics relating to relationships and sexual heath to help fellow professionals cascade key messages with confidence.

We can negotiate educational sessions directly to some particularly vulnerable people and students on occasion; however we don’t routinely offer classroom delivery to pupils.

Sexual Health Training

All training is free for professionals working in Worcestershire and is currently being delivered remotely via WebEx. View our course schedule.

The C-card scheme

The C-card scheme provides an opportunity for young people to get free condoms from trained staff. This is to help young people keep safe and reduce teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Young people (up to and including 19 years of age) meet with a trained worker who discusses their relationship and when appropriate gives condoms.

All staff have experience of working with young people and are trained before giving condoms. Everything remains confidential, unless (on rare occasions) someone is at significant harm or risk, then safeguarding guidelines will be followed.

Outreach nurse service

WiSH Sexual Health Outreach Nurses work with young people who cannot or are unable to access mainstream sexual health services. We work with vulnerable clients to improve access to sexual health care. We engage with young people who are hard to reach within the community e.g. schools community hubs, homeless foyers, residential units and in patients homes.

Our Sexual Health Nurses offer one-to-one support information and guidance regarding contraception, sexually transmitted infections and safer sex. Find out more or make a referral.

How is my information shared?

Worcestershire Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) is a confidential service. This means we will not share information about you without your knowledge. All patients have the right to expect that information about them is held in confidence. Patients will be properly informed how information about them is used.

To help give patients the best care possible, sometimes we will need to share information about you and your health. This is rare and we will always let you know before we share any information about you.

There are specific rules, which are governed by law, which we must follow. Examples of times when information might be shared include:

• When a patient has capacity and has given valid consent to share information.
• When it is necessary to safeguard an individual or others.
• When there is a legal duty to do so, for example a court order

We may share information with some of our partner agencies with your consent, if they share responsibility for your health care.

We have a duty to disclose general information about our patients for statistical and public health reports. All information that is shared for audit, research and epidemiological reasons is anonymised. Our partners who provide IT systems and support which hold Patient identifiable information must sign up to confidentiality regulations.

How is my information shared? Sexual Health Poster for Print