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Sexual Health Guidelines and Referral

Checked: 23-07-2023 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 23-07-2024

Clinical Guidance

See the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV website for guidelines on the management of sexual health conditions.

Unity Sexual Health

Sexual Health services for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are run by Unity Sexual Health. Please see this link for referral forms.

Please note, Unity Central (CHC) and the WISH Centre, are not accepting Walk in or Sit and Wait patients. Please do not tell patients they can attend the service in this way or just ‘pop in’. Please ask them to call (0117 342 6900 for CHC, Bristol and 01934 881234 for WISH, Weston) to make an appointment (including if urgent). For any patients that you feel are vulnerable, please call the professionals line (CHC, Bristol 0117 342 6913 and WISH, Weston 01934 881231)

The website provides information on how to refer as well as a range of useful resources for GPs including useful links to other agencies and organisations that support your work in sexual health and contraception.

It also contains a FAQ section which have been generated from an ongoing audit of clinical queries that they receive.

STI Testing - Update

From 11/04/2022 we have reinstated our postal STI testing kit service. There may be further future disruption owing to difficulties in the supply chain.

If you want to contact us, please use the usual route: https://www.unitysexualhealth.co.uk/for-professionals/

Owing to COVID-19, we are not operating a walk in clinic. Any patients who require testing or review needs to call our main telephone number 0117 3426900. Our telephone lines are open as follows:

Monday-Thursday: 08:30-17:00 hrs

Friday: 08:30-13:00 hrs

Saturday: 9:00-12:00 hrs

Patients should be signposted to appropriate out of hours urgent care settings if we are closed.

As always, please see our website for up-to-date information: https://www.unitysexualhealth.co.uk.

Genital Warts

Genital warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). The virus causes the warts to appear in only a small minority of people. This means the majority of people who have been infected with HPV do not develop warts.

Genital warts may either be left alone, or can be treated, to try and clear the lesions. It is important to understand that treatment is for cosmetic purposes only and treatment does not clear the virus – only the visible wart(s). The virus tends to resolve on its own over months or years.

Treatments include:

Cryotherapy (cold spray of liquid nitrogen done by a doctor or nurse)
Skin creams or solutions which you can use at home - these can be prescribed in primary care (not appropriate in pregnancy).

Please see Unity Guidelines on the Management of Genital Warts

Repeat cryotherapy is not routinely available at Unity services. Cryotherapy is available to all patients upon first diagnosis; for pregnant patients; and for urethral warts at the Central Health Clinic, Concord clinic and WISH clinic (Weston).

Please see the Unity- information on services page for further updates

Sexual Health information in different languages

There is a really good resource that allows translation of lots of sexual health information including contraception advice into different languages (select language top right on the screen)

https://www.zanzu.de/en/family-planning-and-pregnancy/contraception/

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.