If you are concerned that you might have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), your best source of help is the local Sexual Health Clinic. You can go to a Sexual Health Clinic for a general sexual health check-up.  They can also perform HIV testing and test for specific STIs. The service they provide is completely confidential, which means results will not be listed on your GP's medial records.  You can even use a false name if you wish.

Most clinics have health advisors who can talk to you about any worries you have about your sex life. They will also be able to advise you on what vaccinations are available and help you decide whether it is a good idea for you to take an HIV test.

Use the clickable map of London to 
find a clinic near you 

The NHS provides over 30 GUM (Genito-Urinary Medicine) clinics across London, details of which follow.

All clinics will offer gay men Hepatitis B vaccination and many will also vaccinate you against Hepatitis A.  We suggest you read the following information first.

Making an appointment

At most clinics you need to call to book an appointment. It usually takes about a week before you can get an appointment, although this will vary from clinic to clinic. If you do not say that you are a gay man then you may have to wait a lot longer. Most appointment times are during the day, although some clinics offer an 'after hours' service. Be warned, as with booked appointments in a doctor's surgery, sometimes you'll find you still have to wait for quite some time before they can see you, so best to allow some leeway if you're taking time off work.

Walk in services

As a general rule, if you want to use a walk in service rather than wait for an appointment, it is advisable to arrive at the clinic as early as possible. Walk in space gets booked up very quickly and some clinics open their doors half an hour before they actually begin to see patients in order to allocate the available walk in space on a first come first served basis. Call in advance to check with the clinic you wish to visit or if in doubt get to the clinic 30 minutes before the clinic start time. Also be prepared to spend at least three hours in the clinic waiting, even if you do get there early.

Changes to services provided

Please note that services change over time and it can take quite a while before notices, leaflets, recorded messages and websites are updated. For this reason we strongly recommend that you call the clinic you wish to visit before doing so, to ensure that their services are still operating as advertised. We do our best to keep the information provided here up to date, but if you do find services that are no longer operating as advertised, we would be grateful if you would inform us by clicking on the ‘Feedback on this page’ button underneath the left hand menu.