How Brook Cornwall is breaking barriers to sexual health

This Sexual Health Week we want to amplify the voices of those who face barriers as well as those who are working tirelessly to break barriers. Rachel Balshaw, Chlamydia Screening Outreach Worker in Cornwall, shares some of the ways our wonderful team in Cornwall is breaking barriers and helping people of all ages to access sexual health services in a geographically dispersed area.  

For those who have visited Cornwall, it is easy to see why so many people choose to live in this beautiful part of the world. However, with towns and villages spread across a coastline stretching 422 miles, delivering a sexual health service that everybody can access can be rather tricky.  

With almost 1,400 square miles to cover, geographically speaking Cornwall is very wide spread meaning our clinics need to be wide spread too.  

We currently hold clinics across 10 different towns across the County, from Penzance all the way up to Bude, meaning people shouldn’t have to travel too far to visit one of our clinics. We are lucky enough to have our own Brook buildings in Pool and Truro – with multiple clinic rooms and a large waiting area, they are perfect for our under 25s drop-in clinics.  

For the other eight towns, our clinical team will set up a Brook clinic for the day in a hired space, making sure they have all the stock and equipment needed for the day. 

We have a wonderful team here in Cornwall who work very hard and travel very far to make sure there are dedicated clinics available for under 25s, as well as clinics for our all-age service users. The clinics are made to feel welcoming and the team delivers a number of services including contraception, STI testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, emergency contraception, PrEP, PEP and more.

And, to make the experience just as positive as it would be in one of our own Brook premises, one of our health care assistants or reception team will go along too, meaning everyone is greeted with a smile and made to feel at ease.  

Here in Cornwall we are proud to offer a digital-first service via our website sexualhealthcornwall.co.uk. This means at the click of a button, those over 16 can order repeat contraceptives such as the pill, the patch and the vaginal ring, STI testing kits, emergency contraception, and condoms (for those under 25). This not only saves people money by not having to travel but also saves them time, something we could do with a little more of!  

There are barriers specific to young people in Cornwall, especially if they don’t drive or have access to a car. Public transport can be limited and costly, also many students travel to college by bus daily and don’t have the flexibility of being able to ‘walk into town’ to see us afterwards, because their one and only bus is waiting to take them home to a remote part of the County. 

To break down this barrier, Brook provides outreach sexual health sessions in colleges, sixth forms and university. We offer STI testing, free condoms, contraception information and the opportunity to register for Brook Cornwall’s C-Card scheme. 

This type of ‘pop up’ outreach is so important for under 25s; many don’t feel comfortable receiving postal STI kits when they live with parents/carers and may struggle to get to a clinic without somebody driving them there.  

We are finding more and more young people are coming to us for STI tests and condoms at these outreach sessions, it is great to see them taking positive steps to look after their own sexual health.  

Sadly, here in Cornwall real life can be somewhat different to the picturesque seaside postcard. Although there are many barriers to people accessing sexual health services, for those who find themselves homeless it can be even harder. With no fixed address or internet access, ordering free STI testing kits from our website can be impossible, and with the cost of public transport, getting to a clinic can be just as hard.  

Over the last 12 months, we have started visiting Harbour Housing- who provide accommodation and support to homeless and vulnerable people living in Cornwall. We now offer regular ‘pop up sexual health days’ where people in the homeless community can get tested for STIs, access free condoms and sometimes just have a chat.

We make sure sexual health is available to everyone, and that no one is left behind just because of their circumstances. 

At Brook, we know that good sexual health begins with education. I couldn’t write this blog without mentioning the work the Brook Cornwall Education team do, travelling the length and breadth of Cornwall and to the Isles of Scilly, breaking barriers and ensuring that young people receive good quality relationships and sex education. In the last academic year we saw more than 10,000 young people through almost 300 education sessions. 

Cornwall really is a beautiful county but it is not all as it seems on TV shows like Doc Martin! And logistically our team in Cornwall has a lot to think about. But we are committed to breaking the number of barriers faced by people in our communities and we are always striving to improve our services to the Cornish Folk (and the non-Cornish living here too of course!)  

Find out more about Brook’s Sexual Health Week 2022: Breaking Barriers