Clinic M – a service for men who have sex with men

Brighton’s Sexual Health Clinic is dedicated to gay, bi and other men who have sex with men.

CLINIC M provides sexual health information and offers easy access to HIV and sexual health testing. It’s open every Wednesday evening from 5–8pm with a mix of walk-in and pre-booked appointments available.

The clinic is located at the Royal Sussex County Hospital Out Patients’ Department on Eastern Road, within the sexual health department (SHAC) Sexual Health & Contraception service.

CLINIC T is Brighton’s sexual health clinic dedicated to Brighton’s trans and non-binary communities. Clinic T is also located at the Royal Sussex County Hospital Out Patients’ Department on Eastern Road and can be accessed by the Lawson Unit, Abbey Road entrance.

The clinic runs every last Wednesday of the month and is open from 5–8pm; again with a mixture of walk-in and pre-booked appointments.

Each clinic offers a wide range of services, including testing for HIV and STI screening. There is also access to Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for people who may have been exposed to HIV infection, as well as monitoring and tests for people taking Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

The clinics also offer appointments with health advisers who can provide advice and support on sexual health issues and drug and alcohol use. The clinic can refer patients to other specialised support services available in the city such as Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and Pavilions.

Travis Cox (THT) and Gary Smith (Pavilions’ LGBT worker) both attend the clinics and are able to offer drug and alcohol support for people accessing both Clinic M and Clinic T services.

THT and Pavilions’ workers are able to provide face-to-face assessments with patients, offering a tailor-made support service for people struggling with problematic use of chems/drugs, alcohol as well as sex they’re unhappy about.

The Face2Face service at THT provides support to people concerned or worried about sexually compulsive behaviour, such as: using hook-up apps obsessively or taking risks they are unhappy about by mixing sex with taking chems/drugs and alcohol. The Face2Face service is also about supporting people who want to move away from the chemsex party scene.

THT’s Face2Face service offers free weekly structured support sessions at THT in Ship Street, Brighton. The service has a non-judgemental attitude so anyone can talk freely and openly in a safe and confidential space. The sessions use motivational interviewing techniques which help to bring about changes in behaviours people are unhappy with, helping people to live healthier lives free from substance misuse, sexual compulsion and alcohol dependency. It offers practical harm reduction strategies, such as increasing the number of sober days a person has per week, understanding what is behind compulsion and reducing the use of hook up apps.

The partnership working relationship between Clinic M, Clinic T, Pavilions and THT provides the perfect platform for people to talk openly and confidentially about drug and alcohol use and better understand their sexual risk taking and compulsions; refreshing their attitude towards their personal sexual health responsibilities.

Gary Smith (Pavilions’ LGBT worker) is able to provide structured support programmes from the offices of Pavilions’ Drug & Alcohol Services located at Richmond House, Richmond Road, Brighton, BN2 3RL.

Their support services include offering Blood Born Virus (BBV) screens to new clients attending for support which provide results for Hepatitis B, C and HIV. The tests are conducted by Mag’s O’Sullivan, Pavilions’ on-site Hepatitis Nurse.

Pavilions offer a number of other drug and alcohol services, and provide training on safer injection practices, distribution of Slamming Packs (packs containing sterilised needles and sharps boxes), which help users ensure that all needles are disposed of safely via the Brighton needle exchange programme. These slamming packs are available from THT, Pavilions and to people accessing Clinic M and Clinic T.

MORE INFO
To find the right clinic for you or book an appointment at SHAC, visit: www.brightonsexualhealth.com or call 01273 242091.

If you’re looking for support around drug or alcohol use, or would like advice on accessing one-to-one sexual health support, contact Travis Cox at travis.cox@tht.org.uk or call 01273 764200
or Gary Smith at gsmith@pavilions.org.uk or call 01273 731900.