A new sexual health clinic launched in Wisbech this year is not being used as much as hoped because people are still travelling to Peterborough or King’s Lynn for diagnosis and treatment, a report has shown.

Cambs Times: MP Steve Barclay officially opens Wisbech’s new sexual health clinic at Parkside.MP Steve Barclay officially opens Wisbech’s new sexual health clinic at Parkside. (Image: Archant)

The sexual health hub opened at the town’s North Cambs Hospital in January which meant for the first time in Fenland residents could access a full range of sexual health and contraception services, including HIV testing, without having to travel outside the district.

More than £300,000 was invested including specialist equipment and an on-site laboratory, but patients are still travelling out of the area, a report has shown.

Val Thomas, consultant in public health, at Cambridgeshire County Council, said the last 12 months have been spent trying to ensure equality of sexual health care compared to Cambridge city, which includes trying to find a clinic location in Chatteris and setting up Chlamydia screening in two Wisbech education centres for young people.

“The key objective is to enable patients to have both their contraceptive and sexual health needs addressed in one location,” she said.

“Nurse led services are a key element of a modern sexual health service. Nurses provide the school based services based in Thomas Clarkson School and the College of West Anglia’s Wisbech campus.”

As part of making the service more accessible, clinics are offering more flexible opening hours in the evenings and Saturday mornings and a booking system has been set up so that all patients call one number only and then choose their preferred clinic location.

Since launching the Wisbech hub there has been no noticeable change in the number of patients travelling to Peterborough. The story is more positive for King’s Lynn where the number of people travelling to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital dropped from 76 to 35 in one month.