Limited service at New Croft sexual health services
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Sexual Health services delivered from New Croft House have been limited. We are hoping to restart our services soon whilst continuing to work through some technical problems, thank you for bearing with us. DIY testing kits continue to be temporarily suspended during this time, those patients who have sent in tests before Monday 16 January 2023 and are awaiting results, please note these may experience some delays. Where a clinic has been cancelled, or slots become unavailable, we are continuing to contact patients directly to rearrange their appointments. The Gynaecology and HIV services that operate from New Croft House remain unaffected. Where patients require emergency contraception, Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) medicine, or have an urgent query, please contact the sexual health team on 0191 229 2999 for further advice. Please check our website for further updates.
The National Chlamydia Screening Programme for Newcastle is based within the New Croft Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Most people with chlamydia will not have any noticeable signs or symptoms of the infection.
Changes to the National Chlamydia Screening Programme
The National Chlamydia Screening Programme has changed. Chlamydia testing is now being routinely offered to under 25-year-old *women and other people with a womb or ovaries. This includes transgender men, gender fluid and non-binary people assigned female at birth and intersex people with a womb or ovaries.
This means that chlamydia screening will be available in community settings, such as GPs and pharmacies and will only be proactively offered to young *women between the ages of 15-24 years.
This is because the harmful effects of chlamydia occur predominately in *women. The aim of these changes is to maximize the health benefits for those people where the harm due to untreated infections is greatest.
Say Yes to Chlamydia Testing
For this group, chlamydia can cause inflammation and pain in the pelvis, an ectoptic pregnancy (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube) and infertility (being unable to have children). This risk is increased if you get the infection again and again. Because of this, whenever you are offered a chlamydia test, you should consider taking it.
It is rare for men and people without a womb or ovaries to get any serious health complications from chlamydia. As such, this change removes the offer of opportunistic chlamydia screening to asymptomatic men outside of sexual health services.
However, young men who are symptomatic can still test via the Newcastle Chlamydia Screening Programme.
Young people will still be able to access chlamydia and gonorrhoea tests at sexual health services and young asymptomatic men will continue to be tested through partner notification procedures.
Check your bitsChlamydia can be easily treated with antibiotics. If you are pregnant, you should tell us as you may need different antibiotics.
Gonorrhoea
When you test for chlamydia your sample will also be tested for gonorrhoea, this is because rates of this infection in young people are also high.
Gonorrhoea is a treatable bacterial sexually transmitted infection. However, if left untreated it can cause serious long term health complications for both men and women, which can result in infertility.
Where can I get a test?
Test kits are available in a variety of locations, including:
- Streetwise
- GP Practices
- Newcastle DIY testing community pharmacies
- Via School Health
- Universities and Colleges
- Youth Centers and community venues
- New Croft Centre DIY kits and New Croft Centre outreach events throughout the year
Anyone who is 25 years and over or anyone who would like a full sexual health screen can still access sexual health services in the usual way.
More information
For more information about chlamydia and gonorrhoea, visit our ‘Check your bits’ website:
Check your bitsContact
Our central office is based at the New Croft Centre.
Telephone: 0191 229 2958
Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm
*References to women includes cisgender women, transgender men, non-binary and gender fluid people (assigned female at birth) who have a womb and/or ovaries.
