Plans for a new sexual health clinic in Wigan town centre have been approved by the council. This would be the third sexual health clinic location in the borough with one already located in Leigh and another in the Galleries in Wigan.
The service at the Galleries has moved to Leigh since the redevelopment works began in Wigan town centre, with the new application looking to be the site replacement.
The clinic will be located on Standishgate in a unit that has sat empty for a number of years.
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The site's previous use was for offices. The space will have to be altered to fit the use of a sexual health clinic.
“The proposals are to carry out mainly internal alterations, that will see the internal spaces converted into offices and treatment rooms concerned with sexual health care and advice,” the planning application said. “Air conditioning plans and other plans associated with the delivery of medical and health services are being installed.”
Currently, Spectrum's sexual health teams deliver free and confidential integrated services across Wigan and Leigh. Both clinics combine sexual health and contraceptive services to provide a full service for all your sexual and reproductive health needs.
During the pandemic, they had to alter their services to avoid as much face to face contact. However, they are still open and providing telephone appointments and consultations.
Sexual health appears to be an area of improvement for Wigan according to Public Health England data, with 1,294 STIs being diagnosed back in 2020 - which was 31 per cent fewer than the previous year.This meant that 391 in every 100,000 people in the area were infected with diseases including syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia.
That rate was down from 2019, when 566 in 100,000 people in Wigan were diagnosed with an STI. The most common infection was chlamydia with 726 cases found in 2020.
It was thought that due to the Covid pandemic, less people were having sex, which meant that the rates of STIs fell. Nevertheless, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are still a major public health concern.
If left undiagnosed and untreated, common STIs may cause complications and long-term health problems.
