Canberra Sexual Health Centre marks 30 years of service to the community

ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher MLA, has joined the 30th Birthday celebrations for the Canberra Sexual Health Centre, commenting on the growth in services provided by the clinic since its inception in the late 1970s.

The Minister helped mark the Centre’s 30th Birthday following World AIDS Day.

“The Canberra Sexual Health Centre is a specialist clinic at Canberra Hospital which provides an extensive range of services both to the ACT community as well as targeted programs to our overseas neighbours,” Ms Gallagher said.

“The Centre also offers a service unique in Australia – the Sexual Health, Lifestyles and Relationship Program (SHLiRP) – which provides sexual health education and testing for Sexually Transmissible Infections (STI) for 16 to 19 year olds in all ACT government colleges,” she said.
 
“The program has evolved into a partnership with Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, funded by ACT Health and provides a service to each college every two years.  This gives young people a safe place to learn and ask questions in confidential clinical consultations, with the option of STI testing. 

“This is particularly important as we are seeing a rise in the number of Chlamydia notifications in the ACT each year with the majority occurring in younger people.”

Ms Gallagher said in response, the ACT Government had provided $500,000 per annum for three years through the 2009–10 Budget for social marketing and peer education strategies targeting young people at risk of developing Chlamydia and related sexually transmissible infections. 

Outreach screening would be provided as part of this initiative through tertiary education facilities, the public service and other workplaces, large public events and avenues to access homeless young people.

The Minister said the Centre also offered long term management of HIV infection and the provision of HIV post-exposure preventable drugs.
“Forensic and Medical Sexual Assault Care (FAMSAC) is a unique 24-hour service, started in 2001, that provides immediate care after sexual assault to women and men in the ACT and surrounding region,” Ms Gallagher said.

“FAMSAC works closely with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team and counsellors at the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre to provide a patient-centred, integrated approach to care.

Ms Gallagher said education and training were an integral part of the Centre’s activities with specialists involved in the teaching program in sexual health at the Australian National University Medical School and the provision of sexual health education to University of Canberra Pharmacy students.

In recent years the Centre had also provided services overseas. In 2006, Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia invited the Canberra Sexual Health Centre and partners in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea to be involved in a 5-year AusAID-funded project in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

COMPASS (Clinical Outreach, Men’s Programs, Advocacy and Sexual health Services) aims to reduce STI prevalence and HIV transmission in the areas of East Sepik, East New Britain and Morobe Province.

“Canberra Sexual Health Centre has a great deal to be proud of in its long history of contribution to the community of the ACT, Australia and Asia Pacific Region,” Ms Gallagher said.

2 December 2009