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Free sexually transmitted infection tests

Date published: 14/02/2006

Free tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may be made available on the high street in a bid to clean up Britain's worsening sexual health record, it has emerged. Ministers are said to be considering plans to allow people to purchase kits to test for common diseases such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia.

Cases of STIs have soared over the past ten years, with over 750,000 people in the UK contracting some sort of sexual infection last year alone. Health minister Caroline Flint said at the weekend that the issue had to become less of a "taboo". She told the Independent on Sunday that she wanted to make personal testing for STIs as normal as eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. It has been suggested the kits could soon be available in supermarkets and petrol stations and that results may be sent to patients via text message.

The Department of Health (DoH) said ministers were discussing plans but more research was needed before the tests could hit shelves. A spokesperson said: "We are trying to normalise testing for STIs [sexually-transmitted infections] and remove the embarrassment factor by making testing available in places like pharmacies. "We want to make services more accessible to people and move them outside traditional settings.

"We are starting with chlamydia - and looking at 16- to 24-year-olds at this stage - as it is asymptomatic and we know it affects thousands of people across England. "More research needs to be done on whether handing out testing kits for other STIs would be effective. At this stage the tests are not accurate enough for STIs such as gonorrhoea or herpes." The personal tests follow a successful pilot scheme where high street chemist Boots distributed self-tests for chlamydia.

The scheme, aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds, will run for two years before being introduced nationwide if it proves to be successful. Chlamydia has caused great alarm to health officials because of the devastating effects it can have. It has few recognisable symptoms and left untreated can cause infertilty and ectopic pregnancies. Cases of the disease have risen 200 per cent in England over the past decade, according to the latest figures. Sexual health clinics have also been warned they need to triple their capacity if they are to meet government targets to treat all patients within 48 hours.

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