Specialist testing, diagnosis and treatment for STIs, often with wider prevention services.
Back to the glossarySexual health
Sexual-health clinic
A specialist service providing confidential sexual-health assessment, testing, treatment and prevention. Services may also be called genitourinary medicine, GUM, contraception or integrated sexual-health clinics.
Sexual health
In brief
Confidential specialist care for testing, treatment and prevention.
Anyone can use a sexual-health clinic, with local routes including appointments, drop-in sessions, telephone advice and postal testing. NHS sexual-health services are free and confidential; information may be shared only in limited safety or legal circumstances, normally discussed with the person first.
A service focused on contraceptive choices, fitting and follow-up; local services may be integrated.
Alternative access for selected contraception, tests or treatments, depending on local provision.
The appropriate route for serious injury, severe symptoms or an immediate medical emergency.
What clinics offer
Services commonly include STI tests and treatment, condoms and contraception. Some provide pregnancy testing, vaccinations, HIV PrEP or PEP, and support after sexual assault.
Not every location offers every service. Check opening times, eligibility, booking and whether a home kit is clinically appropriate.
Confidentiality
Attendance and results are confidential, including for most young people who can understand the decisions involved. A GP is not routinely told without permission.
A professional may need to act if there is a serious risk of harm or a specific legal duty. They will usually explain what needs to be shared and why.
The consultation
Questions about bodies, partners, activities, symptoms and timing help staff select relevant samples and sites; they are clinical rather than moral judgements. A person can ask why a question or examination is needed.
Examination and testing require consent. Patients can request explanations, pause, decline or discuss accessibility, trauma and communication needs.
Results and follow-up
Clinics explain how results arrive and what treatment or repeat testing is required. Testing too early after exposure can miss an infection, so timing advice matters.
Positive results may lead to partner-notification support. Many infections are curable and others are manageable; stigma should never obstruct care.
Non-graphic examples
What the umbrella may include
- Booking a symptom-free STI screen.
- Asking whether a clinic provides PrEP.
- Agreeing a private way to receive results.
- Requesting an explanation before a sample is taken.
- Using clinic support after a positive result.
Reviewed 30 August 2026
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