Trust wins contract to provide sexual health services in City of York

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to have been appointed by City of York Council to provide a new sexual health service for the city of York. This news follows on from the announcement earlier in the month that the Trust had been awarded the contract for providing sexual health services for the whole of North Yorkshire.

City of York council awarded the £1.5 million per year contract for the provision of its new Integrated Sexual Health Service to the Trust following a competitive tender process.

The Trust will work with voluntary sector sexual health organisations and GP practices to provide locally based services which will be accessed through a central booking system.

The focus of the new service will include priority being given to prevention and early intervention with an emphasis on young people and “at risk” populations, quick and easy access to the service that will be available in appropriate locations in the city and all contraceptive and testing for sexually-transmitted infections (STI), diagnosis and treatment will be provided in one location.

The new service will be available free to all who require it and will also include community outreach services and support services for people with HIV and their carers.

The new service will be operational by 1 July 2015, following the award of the contract this month. The new service replaces a complex range of services previously provided through six different contracts.

Commissioning public health services became the council’s responsibility in 2013 and the sexual health service, which includes providing sexual health advice, support and treatment, is one of the commissioned services for York’s residents.

City of York Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Community Engagement, Councillor Linsay Cunningham said: "The re-commissioning of the city's sexual health services has given us a great opportunity to reshape and improve the excellent sexual health services that are available in York, to ensure they meet the needs of the people of York. Re-commissioning this service has enabled us to make improvements and also to save over £500,000 per year.”

The council’s Acting Director of Public Health, Julie Hotchkiss said: “Sexual health is an important and wide ranging area of public health. Most of the adult population are sexually active and having the correct services and interventions can have a positive effect on both individuals' and the populations' health and wellbeing.

“We know that poor sexual health is not evenly distributed across the population and strong links exist between deprivation and STIs, teenage conceptions and abortions, men who have sex with men, teenagers and young adults and certain black and minority ethnic groups. Some groups are at a higher risk of poor sexual health and face stigma and discrimination, which can influence their ability to access services. By bringing together services within an integrated model York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will address these inequalities by providing accessible services where the majority of sexual health and contraceptive needs can be met on one site over extended opening hours and in accessible locations."

Tina Ramsey, Clinical Services Manager, for Yorsexualhealth at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are delighted to have won the contract to provide sexual health services for the city of York.

“We welcome the opportunity to work closely with our experienced voluntary sector partners and local GPs to provide a range of high quality, easily accessible sexual health services across York.

“We will offer one-stop shops where the majority of sexual health needs; contraception and STI management can be met in one place by one practitioner. In addition, telephone consultations and postal treatments will be available for those who may find it difficult to access our clinics.”

26 February 2015