STI testing kits available to take home

NHS R U Clear logo

Testing kits for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea can now be picked up from Connexions centres across the borough and taken home to complete.

Once you get the kit home, all you need to do is pee in the pot, fill out a form and put the test back in the post. Test results will be available within a week.

This is one of many ways NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale is trying to make it easier for people in the borough to test for the sexually transmitted infections, as part of the Greater Manchester-wide Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea screening programme called ‘RU Clear?’.

Everyone aged between 18 and 24, living in Rochdale, will also receive a letter, inviting them to have a test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea.

Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea are sexually transmitted infections (STI) which are treatable with antibiotics. If they are left untreated they can cause infertility for both women and men. More than 1 in 10 young people tested in Greater Manchester have been found to have Chlamydia. Anyone aged between 15-25 years old can have a free STI screening in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

Testing at home has been introduced because many young people are still worried about the stigma of attending a clinic. The RU Clear programme wants to break down the barriers of STI testing and encourage young people to look after their sexual health.

“We want to make having a test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea as hassle free as possible and so there are lots of different ways locally to get a test,” said Cath Hayes, Sexual Health Improvement Specialist for NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.
“These infections don’t have any symptoms so it’s really important that young people have tests- it is the only way to detect them. It’s also important for people to use condoms to reduce the risk of getting an STI in the first place.”

Teams will also be taking to the streets of the borough in a van branded with the ‘RU Clear?’ campaign messages and information about local sexual health services. People can ask the team about their sexual health and even take a test by the roadside.

You can also have a testing kit posted to your home best sending a text message. To receive a testing kit, text “TEST” followed by your name and address to 84010. A couple of days later you will receive an NHS test in the post.

For more information on the campaign or where you can get tested locally, contact the sexual health team on 01706 517613 or visit: www.ruclear.co.uk.