What To Expect In Clinic
After having a telephone assessment, you may be booked to attend our clinic for an appointment or to collect medication. If you have not yet had a telephone assessment, please call Reception to book. Please do not attend the clinic unless you have been booked an appointment by a staff member.
When you arrive at the clinic a member of the Reception team may ask you about about Covid-19 symptoms. Please see our Covid-19 page for more information about attending the clinic during the pandemic.
Reception staff will ask you to complete a registration form if required and check your contact details. You will then be seated in the waiting area whilst you wait for your appointment, and you will be called by first name when it is your turn. You will be taken to your appointment room, and your full name and date of birth checked before the appointment begins.
Please click on the below headings to find out more about each appointment type.
Treatment / medication collection
You may be booked an appointment to collect treatment or contraceptive medication. You will have discussed your medication at your telephone assessment and had the opportunity to ask any questions. When you attend for collection, a member of the Nursing team will hand over your medication and give you any relevant instructions.
If you experience any issues when taking your medication or have any further queries, please call us for advice.
Injections
You may be booked an appointment to have treatment via injection or a contraceptive injection. Once in the clinical room, the procedure will be explained and any relevant information given to you. With your consent, the injection will be administered in to your upper arm or buttocks (depending on the injection type). Please wear suitable clothing.
If you have ever felt unwell or fainted after an injection, please let the staff member know beforehand so that they can ensure you are safe. To reduce the chance of this happening, please eat and drink normally before your injection.
After some types of injections we will ask you to stay in clinic for a period of time afterwards, to ensure you do not have any reaction to the medication.
Blood tests
Once in the clinical room, the procedure will be explained and any relevant information given to you. With your consent, a sample of your blood will be taken using a needle, usually from your inner arm. Please wear suitable clothing.
If you have ever felt unwell or fainted after a blood test, please let the staff member know beforehand so that they can ensure you are safe. To reduce the chance of this happening, please eat and drink normally before your injection. Most of the blood tests we do are not fasting bloods. If we need to do fasting bloods you will be advised of this in your telephone assessment beforehand.
If you are likely to feel unwell or are particularly anxious, we can do your blood test whilst you are laying down rather than sitting.
Once the blood sample has been taken, we will send it off to the hospital lab for testing.
Examinations & sample taking
You may need to attend clinic to have samples taken to test for any infections, and / or have a physical examination by a Nurse or Doctor.
Depending on what you are attending for, this may include needing to touch your genitals and take samples from areas such as: cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, testes, rectum (back passage), and throat. A speculum may need to be inserted in to the vagina, or a proctoscope in to the rectum. Samples may be taken with a swab (these look like a long cotton bud) and you may also be asked to provide a urine sample.
During intimate examinations, a chaperone will need to be present. This will be another member of the clinical team who joins the consultation to oversee the examination and sample taking.
The clinician will explain the procedure to you beforehand, and with your consent will go ahead with the examination. If we take any samples, these will be sent off to the hospital lab for testing. We examine some samples under our microscope in clinic, as we may be able to see some infections. However not all infections can be seen, and if we do see an infection it still needs to be confirmed by a laboratory test. So if we try to get in touch with you following an appointment, please return our call so that we can provide you any relevant information about your results.
You will be given a card with your client number on, and what tests were taken, so you are able to check your results on our automated results line.
Self sample taking
You may be asked to take your own samples for testing. A member of the Nursing team will explain how to take your samples. This may involve doing swabs of your genitals and / or providing a urine sample. You will be shown to the bathroom where you will take your samples.
We will send your samples to the hospital lab for testing. We examine some samples under our microscope in clinic, as we may be able to see some infections. However not all infections can be seen, and if we do see an infection it still needs to be confirmed by a laboratory test. So if we try to get in touch with you following an appointment, please return our call so that we can provide you any relevant information about your results.
You will be given a card with your client number on, and what tests were taken, so you are able to check your results on our automated results line.
Implants / coils
If you are attending for a contraceptive procedure, the Nurse or Doctor will will explain the procedure and you can ask any questions. With your consent, they will insert / remove or exchange your contraceptive method. The procedure will be done whilst you are laying down on a bed in the clinical room. See the implant, IUD and IUS pages for more information about the procedures.
During intimate procedures (IUD & IUS), a chaperone will need to be present. This will be another member of the clinical team who joins the consultation to oversee the procedure.
If you have ever felt unwell or fainted after having procedures, please let the staff member know beforehand so that they can ensure you are safe. To reduce the chance of this happening, please eat and drink normally before your appointment.
Once the procedure is complete, you will be given any relevant information and aftercare advice.
