Sexual health
We provide all Wandsworth residents with comprehensive information and advice on sexual and reproductive health.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
Find out more about STIs, symptoms and how to protect yourself on the NHS website.
The NHS also provides an overview of HIV and AIDS.
Where to get a test
Visit the Sexual Health South West London website for a full list of clinics across Wandsworth, Richmond, and Merton.
All clinics across the three boroughs, offer free and confidential contraception and STI testing, treatment and advice and are open six days a week including Saturdays.
You can book an appointment yourself or attend in an emergency. You do not need your GP to refer you for care, nor do you need to live locally.
Please call the booking and advice line on 0333 300 2100 to check which clinic you should use. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday mornings. A recorded message gives useful information outside of these hours.
You can also find other clinics and services near you on the NHS Choices website.
STI testing at home
Sexual Health London (SHL) online testing programme offers free and easy access to STI testing kits (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, syphilis, Hepatitis B and C) for Londoners aged 16 and over who have mild or no STI symptoms. Kits can be sent directly to the individual’s home address or alternatively can be picked up from a local sexual health clinic.
Freetesting is the national HIV testing service providing free online HIV tests for sexually active individuals aged 16 and over. You can choose for the kit to be delivered in discreet packaging to any address, and there is an option to also test for syphilis.
Young people
Getting it On offers information for young people aged 13 to 19 about sexual health and drug and alcohol services in South West London.
Young people under the age of 25 can get free condoms from the Come Correct scheme available across a number of boroughs in London.
Get It is a free and confidential online service for young people aged 25 and under living in Richmond and Wandsworth, to order free condoms, lube and chlamydia tests.
GPs in Richmond and Wandsworth may also offer you a chlamydia and gonorrhoea screen if you are sexually active and under the age of 25. Please ask your GP for more information.
Contraception
Your GP surgery can provide you with free contraceptives (as a free prescription), and some surgeries offer long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) such as coil (IUD/IUS), and implant. They can also remove and/or replace these if you wish to change your type of contraception.
If you are registered with a Richmond or Wandsworth GP and aged between 15 to 54, you can access all these types of contraception, including coils, through your local community care practitioners.
The FPA website can help you decide which method of contraception is best for you. It provides information on the different types and methods of contraception.
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if the contraception you have used has failed (e.g., a missed pill or a split condom).
There are two types of emergency contraception:
- The emergency contraceptive pill – (the 'morning after' pill)
- The intrauterine device (IUD or coil)
You need to take the emergency contraceptive pill within either three days, or five days, after unprotected sex for it to be effective – the sooner you take it, the more effective it will be.
The coil can be fitted up to five days after unprotected sex, or up to five days after the earliest time you could have ovulated, for it to be effective.
Emergency contraception is available in pharmacies and GPs across the borough as well as through your local ISH service.
Your local pharmacy
If you are under the age of 25, you can also access free condoms and chlamydia tests at your local pharmacy.
You can use the NHS search to find your nearest pharmacy.
Sexual health webinars
In partnership with our sexual health providers, we have created webinars to celebrate key sexual health events and discuss important sexual and reproductive health topics.