Safer sex advice and treatment for sexually transmitted infections should be provided in schools and GP surgeries in a bid to reduce Britain's sexual health crisis, according to research published today.
The recommendation comes in a report by the Terrence Higgins Trust and the NHS Confederation, which warns that NHS sexual health services cannot cope with the UK's rising rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and need to be overhauled.
Their report, Sexual Health Services, recommends that councils and primary care trusts (PCTs) , the bodies which run local health services, develop more community-based sexual health services to promote safer sex awareness and provide faster access to treatment.
It suggests that contraception and STI testing and treatment services also be provided together in pharmacies and less traditional settings such as leisure centres.
The report was published to coincide with World Aids Day today, and follows figures published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) last week showing that cases of chlamydia - the most common STI - increased by 9% last year, with 104,155 new cases reported in 2004. There was also a 37% increase in cases of syphilis, with 2,254 new cases last year.
The groups also called for improved management of HIV/Aids as a long-term condition because patients now live with HIV for longer. There are more than 58,000 people now living with HIV in the UK, according to the HPA.
Jo Webber, deputy policy director at the NHS Confederation, said: "The government's target that by 2008 all patients must be able to access NHS sexual health services within 48 hours presents a significant challenge and it requires a partnership approach between the NHS, local authorities and voluntary organisations.
"Dedicated NHS staff are doing their best to deal with the consequences of a rapid deterioration in our nation's sexual health but we believe a fresh approach is needed to provide more services in the community."
Paul Ward, deputy chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said it was crucial that the extra £250m the government allocated to PCTs to improve sexual services over the next two years was "spent wisely".
"It is crucial that this money gets to the frontline where it is desperately needed, and also used to expand the range of patient-led community services. If it's diverted elsewhere, we will continue to have the worst sexual health in western Europe for the foresee
