Sexual health checkups: The positives

In the privacy of a GUM clinic, no-one can see you smile.

by Holly-Rae Smith

An STI checkup at a sexual health clinic need not be a grim experience. As women are apparently supposed to get a cervical exam once a year, Holly-Rae Smith has written about her own positive experience to put some minds at ease.

I went to the GUM clinic near my university with a friend, terrified that anyone would see me or assume things about me that just weren't true. Normally, I couldn't give a shit but this was the result of something that I was deeply ashamed of from a relationship I'd rather forget. It had taken me four years to build up the courage to come and get checked. The clinic was part of a hospital, a particularly well sign posted hospital. I don't know whether it was intentional or not but there were twice as many signs pointing out the way to the clinic, which meant that I didn't have to ask anyone in reception (saving further embarrassment) and found it easily - situated away from most of the other wards.

In the GUM reception, there was no-one around except for a very helpful receptionist, talking through a little window in a wall. The rest of the reception room was empty except a sign which asked visitors to respect the privacy of others and sit about ten feet away from the window when it was not your turn to be seen. Confidentiality was obviously a very big deal here. In fact, when I was seen (after about ten minutes), the lady didn't ask me for any ID, any questions about my health record, just asked me to fill out a form for contact details. I booked an appointment and went away feeling a little bit less stressed, knowing that they would go to such great lengths to provide privacy.

When I got into my appointment I met a doctor who asked me, very frankly, about my sexual history from the last six months. Partners, frequency of sexual intercourse, the type of intercourse, if I had had any symptoms of STDs (she listed a couple quickly to give me an idea), etc. As opposed to invasive, I found it easy to talk to her though I did not have to mention the specific reason as to why I had come for the check up. She certainly didn't make me feel like a "skanky ho". She offered me a pack of free contraception as if it were coffee and after the minimum of fuss, she got started on the check up. The nurse who came in to help was simply lovely, she asked me about my degree and was talking to me in a very casual way about quite mundane things. Though not the most thrilling of conversations, her open attitude and friendly nature put me at ease.

At no point in the entire experience did I feel judged. The frankness just made it feel like any other medical exam and I was glad for it. I was worried that my mum, a nurse on the NHS, might be able to access my file but I was assured that they kept no official records for me, just those that went away with my blood test to let the labs know a bit about me.

As for calling back for my results, this clinic had a "no news is good news" policy and said that they would contact me by phone or text message (whichever I preferred) within two weeks if anything was unusual. If I heard nothing, I had the all clear but could ring just to double check.

All in all, a very positive and reassuring experience.

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