Sexual health services that help to keep thousands of Plymouth residents healthy, safe, and protected have been secured up until 2032.
Plymouth City Council has awarded the new £21 million contract to University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) in a decision made at today’s full Cabinet meeting. The new contract is for a minimum of three years with the option to extend after this time, for a total of eight years.
UHP are the current main supplier and have collaborated with The Zone and The Eddystone Trust as part of the Sexual Health in Plymouth (SHiP) partnership since 2017. The partnership works together to offer sexual health testing, treatment and support services to residents.
During 2023, the partnership provided more than 14,000 face-to-face appointments at the hospital, while 1,500 young people were supported at The Zone in the city centre. Online services were used more than 7,000 times.
Since 2017, the partnership has worked to develop an online service giving wider access to self-testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI), providing some forms of contraception and have also launched a new free condom scheme, ‘C@SHiP’ for anyone aged 13 to 24 years old. The partnership has also launched the roll out of PrEP which is used to reduce the risk of getting HIV.
SHiP also helped to ensure access to contraception during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided support during and following the MPox outbreak, rolling out a vaccination programme targeted directly at those who were most likely to be exposed to the infection.
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care said: “We want Plymouth to be a great place for everyone to live and that means ensuring our residents are supported to live their healthiest lives – reproductive and sexual health is a very important aspect of our overall health.
“I’m pleased our collaborative work with the NHS and the voluntary and community sector is set to continue, facilitating the partnership’s vital work helping people to access contraception, providing testing and treatment for STIs and HIV and offering advice on sexual health and wellbeing.”
A UHP spokesperson said: “The SHiP team remain committed to providing high quality sexual health services. It is a privilege to support and empower people in relation to their sexual health and we continuously strive to be here and accessible to the people of Plymouth, when they need us to be.”
Local authorities have been responsible for providing the following services since 2013, which are funded through the Public Health grant:
- comprehensive sexual health services including most contraceptive services and all prescribing costs
- STI testing and treatment, chlamydia screening and HIV testing
- specialist services including young people’s sexual health, teenage pregnancy services, outreach, HIV prevention, sexual health promotion, services in schools, college and pharmacies.
The new contract will begin on 1 April 2024, ensuring there is no gap in service provision.
To access sexual health services in Plymouth, please visit the SHiP website.