Accessible clinics and suitable opening times are important for young people. That’s why our clinics are located in the heart of the communities we serve - operating Mondays to Saturdays in Edinburgh and with a satellite clinic every Tuesday afternoon in Tullibody. We are also busy looking at ways to take our services to communities across Scotland, further improving accessibility.
No appointments or referrals are needed for these user-friendly services, as it suits the lifestyle of most young people.
Our clinics do not operate in isolation of our other services. Instead, each strand provides valuable support and a seamless referral system. Many of our clients have previously attended one of our education programmes, while others may have been referred on from the clinic to a counsellor or by another service provider. As well as finding out about clinics through our education programmes, many young people hear through friends and family, their GP, or by referral from another organisation.
Above all else, it is important that we give our young clients the time, to ensure that we deal fully with everyone’s very individual needs. During this time, our nurses encourage clients to look at their sexual wellbeing, exploring problems they may have faced and providing advice on a wide range of issues from risk taking behaviour, negotiation skills and peer pressure, to their rights and responsibilities and parental consent with the under 16s.
Services
Services that form the core element of our clinical work include:
- Sexual health information, advice and support
- Contraception including emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC)
- Free condoms, dams and lubricants
- Chlamydia testing and advice
- Pregnancy testing and counselling
- Termination referral
- Relationship counselling and referrals to other counselling as required
- Referrals to other sexual health services as required
We work in partnership with other organisations, making service referrals as required to organisations including GUM and the fpa.
Features of our drop-in clinics
- Central locations - situated in the heart of the communities we serve
- Open access – no appointments or referral needed
- Out of hours’ access – daily clinics open lunchtime, after school and early evening hours, as well as weekends through Saturday drop-ins, reflecting our client’s lifestyles and commitments
- User-friendly – evidenced by the thousands of young people who choose to access our clinics
- Confidential – accessed outwith primary care or hospital settings, a feature highlighted as beneficial by young people themselves
- Timely service delivery – waiting times are monitored and clinics adequately staffed to reduce waiting times, which young people find unacceptable
- Dedicated specialist staff – nursing staff maintain current professional registration, Family Planning and STIF course qualifications - sessional doctors need to hold a DFFP and be trained in the insertion and removal of implants
- Enhanced disclosure check – for all staff
- Local child protection training – for all staff on induction with regular updates
- Clinical training – supervision and guidance by senior nurses prior to nurses being assessed for competence in each PGD
- Clinical supervision – regular staff meetings held for reflection, updates and to create opportunities to discuss issues with medical staff
- Group supervision with an external counsellor - to discuss issues of concern regarding clients
- C-card training – including c card plus training for all staff
- Continuing Professional Development – all staff are subject to annual appraisals and CPD portfolio
- Training - in addition to free organisational training, other training covers updates on current issues and related topics or subjects of personal interest as requested by staff members
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