Three councils collaborate on innovative new sexual and reproductive health service, launching on April 1
A new service providing free and confidential access to a wide range of sexual health services is set to launch next week in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition / Unsplash
The Yuno website will include a clinically supported and easy-to-use website to provide convenient, confidential access to expert advice, contraception, STI testing and treatment. The site will be managed by a team of experienced sexual health clinicians and other healthcare professionals, ensuring users receive high-quality, timely and trustworthy care.
Digital sexual health experts SH:25 will manage access to services through the Yuno site, working with the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) and North Bristol NHS Trust. Sexual health and well-being charity Brook will provide specialist services aimed at those under 25 and work with local charity Brigstowe to deliver targeted, community-based interventions for those who face greater health inequalities.
Yuno is funded by Bristol City, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils.
In addition to the new website, in-person clinical services will continue, provided by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) – who also provide the pregnancy advisory service across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire region.
The development of Yuno builds on current provision and has been informed by extensive feedback from service users and professionals. The aim is to expand digital support alongside in-person care to make it easier for people to access sexual and reproductive health services and so help to improve health outcomes.
Such provision is needed given alarming increases in STI rates across England. Data released in 2024 by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveal a continuing rise in STI diagnoses and record levels of cases of gonorrhoea and syphilis.
Cllr Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee at Bristol City Council, says: ‘Yuno Sexual Health service, the new website and the accompanying promotional and outreach work, alongside investment in specialist clinical services, represents a significant step forward in ensuring that everyone in our city has easy access to the essential sexual health care and support they need. We hope this will open the doors for more people to get help and information.
‘We are pleased to be working closely with all our partners to produce the best care for our residents in Bristol and beyond. We are committed to supporting the sexual health and wellbeing of all our residents, and this new service is a testament to that commitment. I look forward to where we can take this service in the future and the continued development of our sexual health support.’
Dr Megan Crofts, Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine at UHBW, adds: ‘As sexual health clinicians we are glad to be able to continue providing integrated sexual health care to the population of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Based on public feedback and public health trends, the new clinical service will have a particular focus on prevention, increasing access to long-acting contraception and PrEP medication to prevent HIV.’
Paula Baraitser, Clinical Director at reproductive health clinic SH:24, says: ‘SH:24 is very pleased to contribute to this innovative system that integrates digital and face-to-face care to provide sexual health care when and where people need it. For the first time, the whole system is working together with a single digital front door helping people navigate a complex system. We think that this model of good practice will benefit service users and is likely to influence services across the UK.’
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