International journal of STD & AIDS
-
Review
Partner referral tools and techniques for the clinician diagnosing a sexually transmitted infection.
Public health agencies have insufficient resources to trace and refer to medical evaluation the sexual partners of patients with sexually transmitted infections (STI). Only a minority of such patients receives formal sex partner referral services. Hence this responsibility rests, by default, with the diagnosing clinician or with the infected patient. ⋯ Clinician and patient obstacles to successful partner referral are discussed, and brief counselling techniques are suggested. Use of patient-delivered therapy, via medication or prescription (dispensed with appropriate warnings), probably serves to emphasize the urgency and importance of notifying partners. Successful referral to medical attention has been shown to help prevent re-infection of the index patient and to curtail community transmission.
-
The aim of this study was to investigate the compliance of management of gonorrhoea with the national recommendations. The method used was a retrospective audit on consecutive cases of culturally proven gonorrhoea. In total, 131 men and 100 women were included. ⋯ Oro-pharyngeal swabs were obtained in 34% of the patients with a history of oral sex. In only three of the nine auditable standards targets were met. In conclusion, staff re-training, updated local protocols, routine offer of test of cure and methods to improve partner notification were implemented to improve the management of gonorrhoea.
-
Significant increases in genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic workloads throughout the UK have resulted in an unmet demand for appointments, and increased waiting times. In order to meet the government target of a 48-hour maximum waiting time for all patients, many clinics are modernising current practices to increase capacity and improve access to services. ⋯ Example case studies from the Six Sigma study are also presented, illustrating the applicability of this model throughout the UK. The findings of the Six Sigma project offer GU medicine clinics across the UK the opportunity to increase capacity, without adversely affecting quality of care.