Ipswich: Sexual health services provider hopes to open new town centre site in Ipswich
Ipswich Hospital
Sexual health services in Ipswich will be provided from a new town centre site next year, it is hoped.
The organisation which provides services in Suffolk, the Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, says a venue has already been identified and the process of getting everything ready will soon take place.
The announcement comes after the lease on the sexual health clinic at Ipswich Hospital was ended to allow the Heath Road site to cope with the expected pressures over the winter period.
Two rooms will remain open at the Heath Road site so HIV patients can be seen, but a reduced service has been operating since the start of this week, which means walk-in patients will now be signposted to other clinics, unless they need urgent attention.
People with booked appointments will also be contacted so alternative arrangements can be made.
Some clinics in Ipswich and Suffolk will be expanding their opening times in order to accommodate extra patients.
Matthew Winn, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, said: “We plan to bring together sexual health services on one town centre site in early 2014 and this will vastly improve accessibility and ensure a more sustainable future for these services.
Most Read
- 1 Woman jailed for having sex with Ipswich schoolboy
- 2 Road closure 'chaos' for residents during fibre works
- 3 Group of youths seen carrying weapons in Ipswich park
- 4 Man who sexually assaulted toddler in the street could be jailed
- 5 Double-decker bus bought on eBay becomes new home for evicted Suffolk family
- 6 First cases of monkeypox reported in Suffolk
- 7 First look at 172-bed student accommodation plan
- 8 Ice cream kiosk at Suffolk beauty spot destroyed in arson
- 9 Police launch appeal to identify man after incident in Ipswich
- 10 Education 'exemplary' at Outstanding Ipswich academy
“In the meantime, I apologise for any inconvenience the interim arrangements may cause, and would like to reassure local people that service users will continue to get the care they need.”
The trust has run sexual health services in Suffolk since last year and the new site will include current services provided at the hospital in addition to reproductive health services, contraception support and advice, which are currently being provided at Trotman Court.
