Free pharmacy chlamydia screening pilot launched in Trafford
A chlamydia screening, treatment and sexual health promotion service has been launched in 13 pharmacies in Trafford as part of the national
chlamydia screening programme. The service is free of charge and will be piloted for 12 months and evaluated by Trafford Primary Care Trust.
Pharmacists have been accredited to provide a test — which can
be taken on site using pharmacy facilities — to anyone aged between
13 and 24 years who requests emergency hormonal contraception. There
are plans to extend this further to anyone in this age range who requests
chlamydia screening.
Samples are sent to a laboratory and the national programme office notifies
clients of positive results via text message, e-mail, letter or telephone.
Positive samples are also tested for gonorrhoea.
Clients who test positive are then offered the choice of several treatment
sites depending on the location of their home or workplace. Participating
pharmacists are accredited to provide antibiotics to patients via three
patient group directions, depending on clients’ circumstances.
Partner notification and subsequent screening and treatment will be an
essential component of the service.
Harriet Lewis, community pharmacy development manager at Trafford PCT,
told The Journal that she believes Trafford is one of the first PCTs
nationally to include a significant number of community pharmacies in
the national screening programme.
“The benefit of being able to access all aspects of the chlamydia
screening service from one site, combined with professional consultations,
pharmacists’ local
community knowledge and the ease of access of pharmacies for most members
of the public, make this project ideal for inclusion in the national
chlamydia screening programme,” she said.
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