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What Happens @ Clinic?
- Reception
- Consulting room
- Examination
- After the examination
- How long will the visit take?
- Quick Test Clinic
- Medical/nursing students
- Confidentiality
- Follow-up/results
- What if I need an interpreter?
- What we expect of you
Reception
When you arrive in reception, please go to the Welcome Desk where you will be guided to the most appropriate service. You may be asked to take a ticket from the machine to ensure that you are seen in turn. You will be called to a desk in number order. If this is your first visit or if you have not attended recently, you will be asked to complete a registration form (download and complete prior to your visit if you want – this will save you some time in reception).
You will also be asked to fill in a self-assessment questionnaire which will identify if you have any problems and what type of tests would be best for you and who you need to see (you are welcome to download form and complete prior to visit). All information will be treated in the strictest of confidence. It will be from this information that it is decided whether you will be seen in the Quick Test clinic.
Once all the paperwork has been completed, you will be shown through to the clinical waiting area. There are separate areas for men and women.
Click on photos below to see what it looks like :
Consulting room
A doctor, nurse or health adviser will call you into a Consulting room where they will ask you about current problems or concerns.
You will then be asked a series of questions about your general health and your sexual history. These questions may be very personal but please don’t be embarrassed, we ask these questions to everybody and some may not apply to you. They are very important, however, in deciding which tests to do, so do be as truthful as possible.
Examination
The doctor or nurse will need to examine your genital area and swabs will be taken to test for infection. These procedures may be uncomfortable but will not be painful.
If you are a woman swabs will be taken from your vagina, cervix or urethra (where you pass urine).
If you are a man swabs will be taken from your urethra (where you pass urine). It is important for men not to pass urine for at least 1 hour prior to their appointment. This is important as passing urine before having your tests can temporarily wash away any signs of infections.
Additional swabs may be taken for those who practice oral or anal sex.
After the examination
After the examination you will be asked to provide a urine sample to detect other problems, such as urinary tract infection.
We check your blood for syphilis as part of your sexual health screen. You are also offered an HIV test and will be asked to sign a consent form for this to be done. A health adviser may see you to discuss issues around the HIV test if necessary.
Other bloods tests may be advised, for example, Hepatitis B testing. The doctor or nurse will advise you of any other tests you may need.
How long will the visit take?
A full check-up may take up to 2 hours.
If you are attending for blood tests, treatment or results only, the visit should take no longer than 30-40 mins.
We would ask you to be patient, however, as there are different clinics running at the same time, so it may appear that someone has been seen before you.
Quick Test Clinic
This clinic is designed for anyone who has NO symptoms and just requires a check-up. It takes advantage of new infection testing techniques: self-taken swab from the vaginal area for women and urine sample for men, which test for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Blood tests are taken in the usual way.
Medical/nursing students
We are a teaching centre and from time to time you may be seen by a doctor or nurse accompanied by a medical or nursing student. If you have any objection to this you should say so when you book your appointment.
Confidentiality
Please be reassured that all information you provide us with is treated in confidence. Your tests are identified only by your patient ID number and your date of birth. We will only contact you in the way you have requested on your registration form eg. Telephone call, letter etc. This is why it is so important that your details are correct.
Follow-up/Results
You may get some preliminary results on the day of your visit depending on what symptoms and tests you had done. If an infection is found at this point you will be given treatment.
Most confirmatory results take up to two weeks to process though some may take longer.
We only ask you to come back to the clinic if an infection is found, we have requested to see you again following a previous infection or a test needs repeating.
We offer a text messaging service for negative results if you have given your mobile number and consent. The message will not be sent out until all your test results are back which could take up to 2 weeks. If you do not receive a message within 3 weeks please contact us.
However, If you do not give us consent to text and your tests come back negative we do not contact you. If you have no reliable means of us contacting you or you would like to receive results whatever they are, we will make an appointment for you to return.
What if I need an interpreter?
Please inform reception staff if you need us to book an interpreter for you. It is not appropriate to use friends and relatives as interpreters due to the personal nature of this service
What we expect of you.
We expect you to arrive on time for your appointment, if you arrive more than 10 minutes late, you may not be seen, so please allow enough time to get here. Also, if cannot make your appointment, please let us know by ringing the appointment line 0121 237 5700.
We would ask you to switch off your mobile phone when you are being seen by a doctor, nurse or health adviser. Please do not use a camera phone to take photographs within the clinic.
Women – we would expect you to let us know if you are pregnant or may be pregnant, or if you are breast feeding to ensure that any treatment prescribed is appropriate.
Whilst we do our best to see patients on time, there may be times that you have to wait a little longer than we would hope. We ask you to be patient and understanding.
Finally, as in all NHS establishments we at Whittall Street clinic will not tolerate any verbal or physical abuse.
