Nine-week wait for sex clinic aid

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Patients are facing a wait of up to nine weeks for an appointment at a sexual health clinic, despite a promise that it should take two days.

An investigation by BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye programme found the delay for treatment and check-ups was three to four weeks in Aberystwyth and Wrexham.

But the wait was more than nine weeks in Cardiff where a walk-in clinic also appeared to be struggling to cope.

The assembly government said it was continually monitoring progress.

Significant rises in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in recent years have put services under pressure.

Two years ago, the assembly government ring-fenced funding for sexual health and pledged to make it easier for people to get tested and treated.

It promised to ensure access to testing for STIs within two days by March 2006.

We need more resources and a better way of working Rob John, Terrence Higgins Trust Cymru

But BBC Wales's Dragon's Eye programme found services varied around the country.

In Carmarthen and Swansea an appointment was available in about a week, while patients in Newport and Bangor could go along and wait to be seen.

But the television programme tried to make an appointment in Cardiff and was told it would take nine weeks - and there were also problems at the walk-in clinic in the capital city.

One anonymous patient in Cardiff described how she had been turned away three times from the walk-in clinic.

"Although I had arrived as instructed, quite early and well before the doors were opened for the clinic in the morning...I wasn't allowed in" she said.

"The people I spoke to, they recognised me after three times and they said: 'oh, you know, we've had budget cuts' and I was horrified."

Rob John, from the Terrence Higgins Trust Cymru, said the 48-hour waiting target had meant some clinics using a sit-and-wait system, and a lack of staff meant people might have to go away and return.

"We need more resources and a better way of working," he said.

Targets

Moves to increase nurses' role in sexual health services has been widely welcomed, along with the unifying of various organisations offering STIs testing and treatment.

Dai Lloyd, a Plaid Cymru AM and a GP, warned: "If you have to wait too long then the infection that you may or may not have got can spread or obviously you can infect other people."

The assembly government said it had invested in a range of initiatives to raise awareness and were working to modernise sexual health services across Wales.

They say that by setting targets they hope to change the way services are delivered... and that they are continually monitoring progress to order to improve services.

The Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust said: "We are working closely with our commissioners on this issue and we are very committed to improving access to sexual health services for all of our patients."