Children & Young People's Service
16 March 2012
Young people’s feedback prompts contraceptive service changes
Feedback from Hinckley teenagers has prompted a change in opening time to a contraceptive service.
The clinic based at Hinckley Health Centre re-launches next Monday (19th March) with a new session time which is just for young people.
The service is run by University Hospitals Leicester and provides confidential advice and support on contraception, relationships, safer sex, pregnancy and other related issues.
The changes have been made after listening to young people's suggestions - this includes extending the opening times to an after school slot to make it more accessible.
Katie Phillips, Leicestershire County Council’s Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator, said: "Going to any sexual health service can be a daunting experience and we want to make young people feel more confident about visiting their local service.
"The teenagers we spoke to said changing the opening times would help make it more accessible and reassure young people about confidentiality.
"We hope that these simple changes will encourage young people who need help or advice to use the service."
Other developments to improve young people’s access of the services is the filming of virtual visits which are now available online: www.thejitty.com/articles/contraceptiveservice
Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership works with young people to reduce conception rates and provide support for teenage parents.
The partnership includes Leicestershire County Council, NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland and Connexions Leicestershire.
Over the past year, it has:
- Reduced teenage pregnancy rates even further – rates are now down by 30 per cent when compared to 1998.
- Developed an online campaign encouraging young people in Leicestershire to always use a condom, if sexually active. The viral video is proving a huge success, and has received over 50,000 hits - www.youtube.com/havefunstaysafe
- Developed resources to offer advice to parents to help make it less daunting to start conversations on relationships and sex. Leaflets on how to initiate the conversations have been distributed to schools, GP practices and libraries.
- Continued to provide the POP (Pop in. Catch On) text service which receives around 70 texts a month and provides friendly anonymous advice to young people across Leicestershire about a range of issues.
For more information on the Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership, visit: www.letstalktp.org
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