SSHA

Society of Sexual Health Advisers

Unite the union
  • About us
    • JOIN SSHA
    • Code of Professional Conduct
    • National Organising Professional Committee
    • National Organising Professional Committee Structure
    • Constitution and Rules
    • Council Reports
    • NPC ACCESS ONLY
  • News
  • Regions
    • London
    • North East, Yorkshire & Humberside
    • Ireland
    • Scotland
    • South West
    • East Midlands – VACANT
    • North West
    • South East
    • Wales
    • West Midlands
  • Resources
    • I Want To Be A Health Adviser
    • SSHA Manual
    • Conference Presentations
    • Competency Framework for Sexual Health Advisers
    • WeSSI: West Sussex Sexual Health Structured Interview
    • Research
    • Unite – Union
    • Publications
  • Jobs
    • Current Jobs
    • Sample Job Descriptions
  • Links
Home » GMFA asks clinics to look out for patients referred by it’s new sexual health messaging service

GMFA asks clinics to look out for patients referred by it’s new sexual health messaging service

July 27, 2011 By SSHA Leave a Comment

GMFA is asking clinics around the UK to look out for patients referred to them by the pilot for an innovative new online partner notification (PN) service for men who have sex with men.

In response to the problem of the large proportion of undiagnosed HIV infection in the gay community and in the light of the fact that untreated STIs can make people much more likely to pick up and pass on HIV, the Sexual Health Messaging Service was developed in order to increase the options and opportunities for gay and bisexual men diagnosed with an STI or HIV to carry out PN, so that more partners of diagnosed patients will receive notifications and the amount of undiagnosed STIs and HIV infection in the community will be reduced.

The pilot service will enable patients, and clinics who offer provider referrals, to carry out PN via a single website that can deliver messages to members of several gay dating sites, users of mobile cruising apps, personal email addresses and mobile phones (via text message). Where patients are too worried about the reaction of their partners to disclose their identity messages can be sent anonymously, and automatic follow-up messages will be sent to partners who do not appear to have acted on the notification they were sent.

Before the new service was developed, health advisers from seven clinics in different settings, with different levels of demands and resources to meet those demands, were invited to explain their current practise around PN so that the new service could be designed to improve PN outcomes. It is these same clinics (Barts, Brighton, 56 Dean Street, Guys, St Thomas’, Homerton, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Sheffield) who are referring their patients to the service during the six month pilot that launched in April 2011.

All other clinics in the UK are being asked to look out for men attending their service as a result of receiving a message sent to them via the new website. Every message sent from the new website will contain a unique reference number. Recipients of messages will be asked to bring their reference number with them to the clinic they attend. Every clinic will be given access to the website and asked to enter any unique reference numbers they are presented with in order to verify message recipients having attended their clinic.

More detailed instructions about accessing the new website and how to enter reference numbers have been mailed or emailed to clinics across the UK, but if your clinic has not received them, please contact Dónal Heath at donal.heath@gmfa.org.uk or call 020 3463 2482.

In October 2011, at the end of the pilot, the aim is to expand the service so that more clinics can refer their patients to the new website or use it themselves for provider referral, and in April 2012 all clinics will be invited to begin using and referring their patients to it.

The new PN service is being project managed by GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation and developed with the support of the Department of Health, consultant Health Advisers and doctors at SSHA, BASHH and the pilot clinics, as well as the four gay dating websites: Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon. The service will enable users to contact members of additional dating sites, social networking sites and dating apps in due course.

If you have any questions about the new online partner notification service, please email the Project Manager, Dónal Heath, at donal.heath@gmfa.org.uk or call 020 7738 6872.

Filed Under: Latest SSHA News Tagged With: BASHH, donal heath, ejaf, elton john aids foundation, gay men, gaydar, gmfa, hiv, manhunt, men who have sex with men, msm, partner notification, PN, recon, ssha

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About SSHA

The Society of Sexual Health Advisers (SSHA) is a UK national organisation with approximately 300 members out of an estimated 350 sexual health advisers in the country. It provides an opportunity for members to meet and work towards further professional development.

Recent Posts

  • Helping People to Reduce Sexual Health Risk: A Motivational Interviewing Approach February 28, 2023

Useful Links

  • BASHH
  • HPV Action
  • NAM
  • Public Health England
  • Public Health Scotland
  • Terence Higgins Trust
  • UNITE the Union

Copyright © 2023 · SSHA - Society of Sexual Health Advisers

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT