Queensland AIDS Council launches new sexual health clinic
Image: (PHOTO: Ann-Marie Calilhanna; Star Observer)
HERVEY聽Bay will become home to the 鈥檚 new sexual health clinic for the Fraser Coast region.
The clinic will offer sexual health testing services to the LGBTI community and will operate from the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre in Pialba.
Hervey Bay local Sally Cripps has been working to bring the clinic to the region since recognising that the local LGBTI community has issues with poor sexual and mental health.
鈥淲e have a gap in service,鈥� said Cripps. 鈥淭here is an issue where you鈥檙e going to a GP to talk about issues specific for gay men, lesbian women or [trans people], the knowledge isn鈥檛 there, and that makes the community feel unserviced.鈥�
Queensland AIDS Council executive director Michael Scott said because of the difficulty in accessing local service for LGBTI people, the rate of HIV and STIs in the region is unknown.
鈥淎t this stage we don鈥檛 really know how many cases of HIV or STIs we鈥檒l find in Hervey Bay,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever, we suspect once we start testing we鈥檒l find a number of people who are positive to STIs and likely we will be able to diagnose HIV as well.鈥�
Scott said the clinic will be one of the only places in Queensland for people to access PrEP.
The new clinic will operate fortnightly on Wednesdays, staffed by a registered nurse.
