Today, Monday 1 April, marks the official launch of the Trust’s new Sexual Health Wirral’s service offer (SHW) which will be delivered in partnership with Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) and axess sexual health.
The new service will continue to offer outstanding sexual health services in the community and is delighted to also launch ourPlace – Wirral’s new sexual health service for young people aged 19 and under where young people can access free, confidential and non-judgemental support and advice in a discreet and young person friendly clinic area.
Prior to the launch of ourPlace, the team engaged with local young people to help develop a service name and brand identity and to understand how to create a discreet and young person friendly clinic area. Through face-to face-engagement sessions and online survey young people were able to share their thoughts and opinions. As a result, ‘ourPlace’ was chosen as the name for Wirral’s new sexual health offer for 19 year olds and under.
The new clinic area, on the 1st floor in St Catherine’s Health Centre, is welcoming, vibrant and a place where people will feel confident and safe in accessing support.
Services at ourPlace include:
- Contraception
- Emergency contraception
- Condoms
- STI testing
- LGBTQ+ support
The clinic timetable for Sexual Health Wirral (including ourPlace) is available on the new mobile friendly website – www.sexualhealthwirral.nhs.uk. The new site has a vibrant design and is a fantastic hub of information and support. People can also follow the service’s new Instagram account (@SHWirral) to keep up to date with all things sexual health.
Sally Barlow, Service Lead, said: “We are looking forward to working in partnership with LUHFT and access sexual health as we embark on the next phase of delivering outstanding sexual health services to the people of Wirral.
“The team is committed to providing an inclusive and non-judgemental service, ensuring people can access sexual health support and advice in clinics, online and via our tailored outreach in community settings and groups.”
Throughout the years Sexual Health Wirral has gone on an incredible journey and was recently rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC said; “staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and took account of their individual needs. There was a strong, visible person-centred culture.”
They also said; “The service planned and provided care in a way that met the needs of local people and the communities served. It also worked with others in the wider system such as public health and local authority colleagues to plan care as part of wider strategies and action plans.”
