Isles Bid To Combat Sexual Disease

Free testing kits for one of the most common sexual diseases are to be left in pubs around Orkney to save local people’s embarrassment from going to their GP.

NHS Orkney is about to run a trial home-testing service for chlamydia so islanders can send their results to a lab in Aberdeen and then phone anonymously for the results.

Aimed at young people aged 16 to 25, they can either get help from a local nurse or GP, or send away to get a treatment pack.

It is said that as many as one in 10 sexually active people between those ages have chlamydia, a disease which can cause infertility.

Local statistics suggest it is just as common in Orkney.

NHS Orkney’s lead clinician for sexual health Dr Anne Nicolson said: “It isn’t always easy for people to ask their GP for a test like this, especially in a small community like ours.

“People sometimes feel embarrassed or are afraid someone will find out. Young men especially are rarely at the doctor’s, so don’t often get the chance to be tested.”

Chlamydia can cause serious complications such as pelvic infection, infertility and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy in women, and testicle infections and severe arthritis in men.

The infection can lie dormant for years, so even ~people who have been in the same relationship for a long time may be infected.

Chlamydia is an easy infection to treat if it is discovered, with usually just four antibiotic tablets taken all at once.

The project, which will run through February and March this year, will distribute 500 free home chlamydia test kits.

NHS Orkney said the kits would be available to be picked up in discreet locations – usually the toilets – in a variety of settings on the Orkney mainland, and the isles.

These include doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries, local pharmacies, Orkney College, support training, the Pickaquoy Centre, and a number of pubs and clubs.

Some of the larger employers are even ordering some kits to be available for their staff.