Services Database Sexual Health

The sexual health service consists of:

The supply of emergency hormonal contraception

• To provide, where clinically indicated, a free supply of emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) as specified within the Patient Group Direction (PGD) for levonorgestrel or ulipristal acetate.
• The EHC service is available to all women who think they may be at risk of pregnancy and who if under 16 are deemed competent to consent to treatment (refer to Fraser guidelines)

Chlamydia screening

• Chlamydia screening should always be offered as part of the EHC service and be proactively offered with all existing services / sales in under 25s that are appropriate for offering a chlamydia screen e.g. contraceptive pill prescriptions and condom sales
• Service Users under the age of 25 years should be advised about the risks associated with undiagnosed chlamydia, supplied with National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) test kits and strongly encouraged to undertake the screening test and return the postal chlamydia screening kit to the NCSP lab as directed within the pack.

Chlamydia treatment

• Eligible young people aged 16-24 years who have been diagnosed with chlamydia trachomatis can be supplied with azithromycin under PGD.

Condom provision

• Pharmacists are encouraged to be distribution sites for free condoms to under 25 year olds, ideally through the C-Card condom distribution scheme where it is in place. This enables pharmacies to provide 13-25 year olds who have registered with the scheme free condoms on presentation of their C-Card. At present, the C-Card scheme only operates in the north of Staffordshire; pharmacies in the south of Staffordshire will be notified when the scheme is implemented in their area.

Please note, this service has been decommissioned. A separate service, Provision of Oral Emergency Hormonal Contraception, has subsequently been commissioned.

The pharmacy contractor has a duty to ensure that pharmacists and staff involved in the provision of the service have the relevant knowledge and are appropriately trained in the operation of the service.

For provision of any of the sexual health services, the accredited pharmacists delivering the service will:

• have completed the CPPE distance learning pack on Safeguarding; and
• Be expected to attend safeguarding training and other relevant training events organised by the LA or the LPC.

Additionally, for provision of the EHC service, the accredited pharmacists delivering the service will have:

• passed the CPPE e-assessment “Emergency Hormonal Contraception” or “Emergency Contraception”. The CPPE e-learning Emergency Contraception can be used to support pharmacists preparing for this e-assessment;
• read the PGDs for levonorgestrel and ulipristal acetate;
• additionally - to provide ulipristal acetate 30mg , pharmacists must have completed the EHC e-assessment which covered supply of ulipristal acetate (as introduced in 2013); and
• pharmacists may wish to complete the CPPE e-learning “Dealing with Difficult Discussions” to aid them in delivering sexual health services.

Additionally, for provision of the chlamydia treatment service, the accredited pharmacists delivering the service will have:

• completed the downloadable CPPE open learning “Sexual Health in Pharmacies”; and
• read the PGD for azithromycin.