This content was generated via a Google Alert and the content is owned by the original site
Click here to visit the original site
More than £760,000 is being spent on sexual health in Hertfordshire this year as managers look to create an integrated and more efficient service.
The Sexual Health Improvement Plan was discussed by county councillors today at a meeting at County Hall.
Council officers think the scheme will save £400,000 in 2015/2016 and the following four years.
It calls for a new approach to raising sexual health awareness across the whole county.
The money will be used to fund a social media marketing campaign aimed at women aged 16 and over in a bid to increase their awareness of services which offer contraception.
Also included in the strategy is a teacher training programme on preventing violence and abuse in teenage relationships, a drive to increase the availability of sexual health and reproductive services to young people, and a commitment to increase chlamydia screening and the free condoms scheme.
The service also hopes to increase HIV testing in men who have sex with men and develop an outreach service for commercial sex workers.
Director of HIV and sexual health charity Herts Aid Susan Banister said: “We are going in the right direction, it makes sense to all work together to create a better sexual health service.”
New figures released by Public Health England in June showed that STIs were on the increase across the county.
A study carried out by the county council last year showed the highest rates of STIs were found in Stevenage and Watford.
Comments are closed.