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A council report reveals 76% of 2024\/25 home STI kit users in Havering were repeat callers, driving more than 10,000 orders as the borough considers adding PrEP and online contraception amid rising costs and national funding pressures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The borough of Havering has seen a marked rise in people repeatedly requesting sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests, according to a council report published last week. The service, which offers free screening for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis through in\u2011person and virtual appointments, recorded that 76% of people ordering an at\u2011home kit in 2024\/25 had used the service before. More than 10,000 home testing kits were ordered in that year and around 74% were returned for laboratory processing, the report states. Council data also show the majority of applicants were women and girls aged 15\u201334, a group the authority described as disproportionately affected by STIs and therefore a priority for testing and prevention work.<\/p>\n
The report highlights digital access as a central strength: the online service routes most people to self\u2011sampling kits and remote triage, reserving face\u2011to\u2011face clinic capacity for those with more complex or urgent needs. Havering is part of a pan\u2011London sexual health partnership hosted by the City of London, which co\u2011ordinates an integrated digital platform allowing residents to order tests and access contraception online. There is a minor discrepancy between accounts of membership size \u2014 the council report refers to 30 participating boroughs, while the programme\u2019s own material describes a 31\u2011authority partnership \u2014 but both sources emphasise the same aims of improving accessibility and managing cross\u2011borough demand.<\/p>\n
Running the clinic is not without cost to the local authority. The report says the service is funded from a ring\u2011fenced public health grant and that the council\u2019s monthly outlay for the programme is now around \u00a321,500, up from \u00a310,436 in 2019\/20. That local figure sits within a national funding framework: the Department of Health and Social Care\u2019s public health grant for 2024\u201325 totals several billion pounds and is allocated to councils to support functions such as sexual health. National bodies and local government representatives have warned, however, that rising STI diagnoses and constrained funding are putting sexual health services under strain and that councils need longer\u2011term investment to sustain open\u2011access testing while protecting clinic capacity.<\/p>\n
The council report also sets out possible service expansions. Officers say Havering is considering optional modules such as HIV pre\u2011exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and an online contraceptive pill service; the report estimates providing PrEP and contraception through the service would cost just under \u00a3400,000 over the next decade. An officer noted in the report that any decision on participation in those modules \u201cwill be informed by a number of factors, including the North East London digital PrEP pilot, and emerging evidence about enhanced pharmacy provision for emergency contraceptives.\u201d Local reporting has also flagged that HIV testing rates in the borough remain below pre\u2011pandemic levels and that PrEP uptake and appointment waits vary, underscoring the potential benefit of widening digital and pharmacy\u2011based options.<\/p>\n
The report emphasises the role of contracted digital providers in delivering the home\u2011kit model and follow\u2011up care. Online providers contracted by NHS bodies and local authorities facilitate remote consultations, seven\u2011day text\u2011based clinical support, laboratory triage for returned self\u2011samples and, where clinically appropriate, online prescribing for common infections. The council points to improved access for Black African and Black Caribbean communities, women and younger residents as evidence that a digitally enabled pathway can reach groups who might not otherwise attend clinics in person \u2014 while also freeing clinics to concentrate on patients with more complex needs.<\/p>\n
Taken together, the figures and the options under consideration paint a mixed picture: rising engagement with testing is a positive public\u2011health signal, particularly among young people, but it exists against a backdrop of stretched resources and uneven performance on prevention measures such as HIV testing and PrEP. Havering\u2019s deputy leader, Councillor Gillian Ford, told the council that joining the pan\u2011London programme was \u201cmore cost effective\u201d than negotiating separate contracts. As the borough weighs optional service additions, the council says it will look to pilots and emerging evidence to balance clinical need, equity of access and financial sustainability \u2014 a challenge echoed by local government bodies calling for a long\u2011term plan and sustained funding for sexual health services nationwide.<\/p>\n