Sexual health

Sexual health covers the advice and services that are provided around contraception, relationships, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy decision making.

Services available

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (Sexual Health Services) provide our sexual health services across County Durham, and they will be happy to help you with any questions or issues you have. The NHS: sexual health website also provides advice and information.

Our main sexual health services are through County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust (CDDFT) and are free to all ages, including young people under 16 years. You can access support through

NHS online
community pharmacists and GPs
schools, colleges and universities
youth services

Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing

Sexually transmitted infections are passed from one person to another through sex or genital contact. Regular testing is essential to maintain good sexual health. It's important to test regularly as many people found to have STI have no symptoms. If untreated, STIs can cause long-term health conditions, such as infertility. Effective HIV treatment can reduce the virus to undetectable levels, which means HIV cannot be passed on through sex.

You can order your free and confidential Sexually Transmitted Infection testing kit at any time. If you live in County Durham or Darlington you can order a free testing kit for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV from SH:24, providing sexual health advice 24 hours seven days a week.

If you do not want to receive a test kit at home, you can collect a chlamydia and gonorrhoea test from most pharmacies.

Free condoms

Using condoms is an effective way to reduce STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

You can order condoms through the NHS: Free Condoms for over 16s. Young people aged between 13 and 24 years can use the C-Card scheme at NHS: sexual health to access free condoms online and local outlets such as pharmacies.

Emergency contraception

If you have had sex without using effective contraception and you are not trying for a baby, it may not be too late to prevent a pregnancy. Emergency Hormonal Contraception pills (sometimes known as 'the morning after pill') is available free of charge from County Durham and Darlington Sexual Health Service clinics or pharmacies. Emergency Hormonal Contraception must be taken within 72 hours (3 days) of having unprotected sex. These pills are most effective if taken within 12 hours.

County Durham Sexual Health Strategy

We work with a range of partners in County Durham to:

reduce the stigma and prejudice that is often associated with sexual health
to help reduce the rate of STIs - some STIs can cause infertility and others can be passed to the baby in the womb or at birth
reduce unwanted pregnancies
support women to make informed decisions

The sexual health strategy sets out what sexual health is important and outlines County Durham's vision and priority areas over the next five years. It has been developed by the council in partnership with commissioned services, the NHS, and community and voluntary sector organisations and County Durham people.

The strategy will be used by Public Health teams and commissioners of sexual health services to support the five year action plan.

The strategy focuses on five priority areas:

Supporting all children and young people in County Durham to access high quality Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) by working with education settings, such as schools and alternative education providers.
Providing pregnancy support for young parents.
Raising awareness of the different methods of contraception and improving access to contraception.
Reducing the stigma of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, focusing on prevention and early intervention.
Raising awareness of reproductive health.

View the County Durham Sexual Health Strategy 2023 to 2028 (PDF) [1MB] .

Contact Public Health

Email publichealth@durham.gov.uk
Telephone 03000 264 109