Covid-19 FAQs

We care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. To keep all of us safe, here is what you must do when visiting our sites...

• Wear a face covering
• Wash your hands or use the gel provided to keep them clean
• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, do not visit our sites unless it is an emergency
• Show respect to those around you by maintaining a distance. This includes when using the lifts or corridors

Help us help you by staying safe.

Thank you

• Most of our clinics are still open. However, you must not attend the clinic unless you have an appointment (excluding young person walk in clinics). Please do not bring anyone with you to the clinic.
• Please call us if you feel you need to be seen 0300 300 2016 or use your Personal Health Record.
• In response to the developing outbreak we have temporarily closed some clinics in colleges and community settings
• For specific clinic details, please use our Clinic Finder.

In order to respond as a service to COVID-19 we have temporarily changed our normal appointment booking procedure. Please call 0300 300 2016 or use your Personal Health Record if you need help with your sexual health. Depending on your need you will be offered an appointment in one of our clinics, or offered a telephone assessment.
Face to face appointments will be released in the morning as same day appointments available for booking. We are offering most of our appointments as same day appointments so we can screen patients for COVID symptoms on the day of their appointment to help reduce the spread of infection. Additionally, same day appointments ensure that we minimise any disruption to service provision based on advice from the government and other national bodies.
For a telephone assessment you will be contacted by a member of our clinical team and assessed by phone. If we cannot help you over the phone you will be allocated a time to attend clinic. Based on your need we may not be able to offer you a telephone assessment on the day you call us. You may be advised to call back the next day when more telephone assessment slots are made available.

Where possible we encourage the use of our Online Test Kit service, as well as access to information on Sexual Health via our website.

We may be able to help you entirely by phone, which can also include providing treatment or contraception via post. Based on your need we may not be able to offer you a telephone assessment on the day you call us. You may be advised to call back the next day when more telephone assessment slots are made available. By helping you over the phone, we are keeping our patients and staff safe.

In order to assess and help you via telephone, we will need to ask you some questions. These questions will relate to your personal details and sexual and medical history. We understand that you may feel uncomfortable providing personal information over the phone. We kindly ask you to be honest, so we can help you in the most appropriate way. Please remember, that our service is confidential and non-judgemental. Please keep this in mind if you are expecting a call, and ensure you are somewhere private to answer these questions. We will send you a text message a few minutes before we call you, so you are aware to expect a call.

You will usually be called by one of our doctors or nurses. The nurse or doctor who calls you could be male or female. All of our clinicians are professionals who are able to help you, and maintain confidentiality. If you are unhappy speaking to a clinician of a particular gender, please be honest with the clinician who has called you.

Our service is here to help you with your Sexual Health. We are not here to judge. We strongly encourage everyone to follow social distancing guidelines, but we will not report you or tell you off if you have not followed the guidelines.

You will be contacted during the day. We are unable to provide a specific time we will call. Please ensure you are available on the contact number you have provided us. The number we call from may show up as withheld. Therefore if you are expecting a call from our service, please answer calls whether the number is withheld or not. We will send you a text message a few minutes before we call you, so you are aware to expect a call.

No, you must not bring anyone with you if you are asked to attend the clinic. If there are circumstances where it is essential you are accompanied, please discuss this when booking your appointment.

Yes, you must be wearing a face covering on arrival and for the duration of your visit. A cloth or home-made face covering is suitable. 

We care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. To keep all of us safe, here is what you must do when visiting our sites...

• Wear a face covering
• Wash your hands or use the gel provided to keep them clean
• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, do not visit our sites unless it is an emergency
• Show respect to those around you by maintaining a distance. This includes when using the lifts or corridors

Help us help you by staying safe.

Thank you

Please arrive 5 minutes before your appointment time. Please avoid arriving more than 5 minutes before your appointment. This is to help minimise the number of people in our waiting areas.

Our Condoms by Post service and STI Test Kit services are continuing to operate.

STI Test kits & Chlamydia kit orders will be checked, and if approved emailed to The Doctors Lab, who will dispatch your kit within 7 days.

Kits are delivered by 2^nd class post. Please be aware there may be a delay to dispatch and delivery due to COVID-19

• Condoms are dispatched within 10 working days of us receiving your order. Condoms are delivered by 2^nd class post. Please be aware there may be a delay to dispatch and delivery due to COVID-19
• Medicines by post are delivered by 1^st class post. Please be aware there may be a delay to delivery due to COVID-19 and could take up to a week to be delivered. A member of our team will contact you to check you have received your medicine.
• Working days do not include weekends or bank holidays. 

• Delays in the postal system may occur due to COVID-19. Because of this, there may be a delay in us receiving your samples after you post them. Once received into our laboratory, we are still able to process samples in line with our usual timescales. 
• We do our best to provide results in the following timescales:
  • Online STI test kit: 7 working days of us receiving your sample into our laboratory.
  • Tested in clinic: 7 working days of your visit to our clinic.
• Working days do not include weekends or bank holidays. 

Please visit British HIV Association information on Coronavirus (COVID-19). If you have any questions, please contact us and arrange to speak to your consultant.

The British HIV Association (BHIVA) and Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) has published advice on the COVID-19 vaccine for people living with HIV. Further information on COVID-19 for people living with HIV can be read on the BHIVA website.

Please call us if you need to discuss your contraception. Please also see our information pages on contraception.

We strongly encourage everyone to follow social distancing guidelines set out by the government.

Guidance on sex and COVID-19 is available from the Terrence Higgins Trust (here), BISH and HIV Scotland.

Disclaimer: Solent Sexual Health Services are sharing this information to support patients. Any links to support services or contact details on the above site may not be available to those living in the Solent Sexual Health area. Information is being updated continuously and is subject to change.

Please visit our COVID19: Support for Young People and Young Person Advice Guide.

Please visit the BPAS website.

Despite these uncertain times, the team at Treetops continue to be here to offer support. We are encouraging social distancing in line with government recommendations, however, we offer non-judgemental support, care and treatment to all clients that need it. We would like to reassure anyone who needs our service they will be treated with kindness, care and respect no matter what circumstances. Contact us 24/7 on 0300 123 6616 if you have been the victim of a rape or sexual assault. You will be assessed over the phone firstly and advised if you need to attend in person. We are here to help.

Please visit our Directory for support services, including Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence. 

During COVID we remain open for all referrals into service including outreach nurses and sexual health promotion 1 to 1 support.

Click here for more information about all our referral services and to make a referral

In line with Government guidelines, if you have travelled abroad to any country that requires you to quarantine on return to the UK, you must NOT attend our clinics for face to face appointments until such time as you have completed the 10 day quarantine period and have completed the appropriate COVID tests and gained a negative result.

If you require urgent care, we will get a clinician to call you to arrange how we can see you safely in service.