The battle against a rising tide of sexually transmitted infections will get a £15 million boost this week in a drive to encourage embarrassed young lovers to come forward for treatment.

Sexual health clinics are to be revamped to increase privacy and cut waiting times, after doctors argued that poor conditions were fuelling the reluctance many patients feel about visiting the clinics.

Ministers have been alarmed by the rapid rise in sexually transmitted infections, with new cases of chlamydia more than doubling from 34,100 in 1996 to 81,700 in 2002. Even syphilis is making an alarming comeback, with new diagnoses leaping from 717 to 1,199 between 2001 and 2002.

Doctors argue that the rise is partly fuelled by young couples no longer being afraid of Aids, but also by the struggle to get treated. A Commons inquiry last year warned of the shambolic state of services, with patients forced to wait up to two months for an appointment.

This week NHS trusts across England and Wales will be invited to bid for the cash to modernise and expand clinics. However, the Tories have called for more 'imaginative' answers, particularly targeting teenage boys, who statistics show are reluctant to seek treatment.

Tim Loughton, shadow health spokesman, defended teenage girls' magazines such as CosmoGirl and Sugar for conveying messages about sexual health. 'There are no equivalent magazines for teenage boys - the two [men's mags] just brought out, Zoo and Nuts, are all about fast cars and fast women and don't address the same issues of how to be responsible,' he said.

New plans to tackle the sexual health crisis are expected when John Reid, the Health Secretary, publishes his white paper on public health this summer, including tougher targets for waiting times and providing more tests through chemists or clinics on school sites.