Current integrated service

Our service offers walk in ‘queue and wait’ morning sessions 5 days a week, plus appointments for contraception or GUM each afternoon and on three evenings a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). In addition, there are specialist community gynaecology, complex GUM, erectile dysfunction, psychosexual medicine and HIV clinics. There is a triage service provided by the nursing staff for those attending, either when the ‘queue and wait’ session has reached capacity or in the afternoon. This role involves determining the urgency of an individual's problem or requirement and arranging appropriate review on the basis of need. Following discussion with the nursing staff it became apparent that there was a significant number of women accessing triage because they had run out or were just about to run out of their contraception or were due their next contraceptive injection. Often they were unable to access an appointment at their general practitioner or, less commonly, with our service. Further, we noted that those attending …