Confidential screening covering the main sexually transmitted infections, with treatment arranged if anything is found.
Referred by a GMC-registered GP, results reviewed by the same doctor
Taken at a partner site near you
Results explained in plain English, not just a number
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
STI screening detects infections that frequently cause no symptoms at all. That is the entire reason for testing rather than waiting: most chlamydia in women, and a substantial proportion in men, produces nothing noticeable — while still being transmissible, and still capable of affecting fertility if left.
Testing is confidential, and results are kept separate from your NHS record unless you ask us to share them.
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea — the two commonest bacterial STIs in the UK, both curable with antibiotics, both frequently silent.
HIV — a fourth-generation test measuring the p24 antigen alongside antibodies, which is what allows detection considerably earlier than antibody-only testing.
Syphilis — rising markedly in the UK in recent years, and easily missed because the early sore is often painless and heals on its own while the infection continues.
Hepatitis B and C — both can be silent for years and both are now treatable, hepatitis C curable in most cases.
Window periods are the thing to understand before booking. Testing too early produces a negative result that means nothing. As a guide: chlamydia and gonorrhoea are generally reliable from around two weeks, HIV is conclusive at 45 days with a fourth-generation test, and syphilis at 12 weeks. We will tell you when to test rather than take your money for a result that cannot yet be trusted.
A broader 14-pathogen screen is available where your history warrants it, adding herpes simplex I and II, trichomonas, mycoplasma and ureaplasma.
We would rather you knew this than not: NHS sexual health services are free and genuinely excellent, and for many people they are the better route. What we offer is speed, privacy and an appointment that fits around your day — not better clinical care. If the free service suits you, we will say so.
If exposure was within the last 72 hours, do not book a test. Post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV is time-critical and available now from A&E or a sexual health clinic.
Included: chlamydia · gonorrhoea · HIV 1&2 with p24 antigen · hepatitis B surface antigen · hepatitis C antibodies · syphilis antibodies.
Broader options are available where your history warrants them, including a 14-pathogen screen adding herpes simplex I and II, trichomonas, mycoplasma, ureaplasma and chancroid. A same-day chlamydia and gonorrhoea test is also available.
1. Consultation. Discreet, and focused on which tests are appropriate and when — the timing question matters more here than in almost any other testing we arrange.
2. Referral. To an accredited clinic. Samples are blood, urine, or swabs depending on the infection and the sites involved — which is worth being direct about: throat and rectal swabs are needed to detect infection at those sites, and a urine test alone will miss it.
3. The sample. No fasting. Avoid passing urine for one hour before giving a urine sample, as this dilutes it and can produce a false negative.
4. Results review. Results are discussed with you directly, never by text alone. Where something is found we arrange treatment and talk through partner notification — which can be done anonymously, and which matters both for them and for preventing reinfection.
Window periods apply. HIV testing is conclusive at 45 days after exposure for a fourth-generation test; syphilis at 12 weeks. Avoid urinating for one hour before a urine sample.
Free NHS sexual health services are also available and are excellent — we will say so if that is the better route for you.
Every infection has a period after exposure during which it cannot yet be detected. Test inside it and a negative result tells you nothing.
Testing too early is the commonest reason a screen is falsely reassuring. We would rather tell you to wait than sell you a result that cannot be interpreted.
A urine sample only tests the urethra. If there has been oral or anal sex, throat and rectal swabs are needed — and infection at those sites is frequently present with no genital infection at all.
A negative urine test does not exclude a throat or rectal infection. This is one of the most common gaps in private screening.
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are curable, and syphilis is curable at every stage with the right treatment.
Two things follow. First, gonorrhoea now needs an injection given in a clinic — resistance means oral tablets are no longer reliable, so this cannot be treated remotely. Second, partner notification matters, and sexual health services do it anonymously if you would prefer.
Taken outside the window periods and from the right sites, a negative screen is genuinely reassuring.
It does not cover herpes or HPV, neither of which is included in standard screening — which is worth knowing before you take a negative as "all clear".
People routinely read a clear standard screen as covering herpes and HPV. It does not, and that gap is worth naming plainly.
A urine sample tests the urethra and nothing else. Throat and rectal infections are common, frequently symptomless, and missed entirely by urine-only screening.
We cannot examine you, which matters for lumps, ulcers and rashes — those need to be seen.
And we cannot treat gonorrhoea, which requires an injection in a clinic. NHS sexual health services do all of this free, including partner notification.
NHS sexual health services are free, confidential, need no GP referral, and post home testing kits. They also do the things we cannot: examine you, swab the right sites, treat gonorrhoea, and notify partners anonymously.
For sexual health specifically, we will usually point you there — not because we cannot help, but because they can help more completely and it costs nothing.
Speed and privacy. Waiting lists in some areas are long, and some people would rather not attend a clinic. Both are legitimate.
It depends on the infection. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are generally reliable from around two weeks, HIV is conclusive at 45 days, syphilis at 12 weeks.
Testing too early is the commonest reason a screen misses something, and a negative result inside the window means very little.
Only if the exposure was vaginal. Urine tests the urethra and nothing else.
If there has been oral or anal sex, throat and rectal swabs are needed — infection at those sites is common, usually symptomless, and completely missed by a urine sample.
The standard screen does not. The broader 14-pathogen panel includes herpes simplex I and II, but we will usually advise against adding it.
Herpes blood testing does not tell you where the virus is, when you acquired it, or whether you will ever get symptoms — and a large proportion of the population tests positive for HSV-1 from cold sores in childhood. It generates distress far more often than it changes management.
If you have a sore or blister now, that is the moment to be seen — swabbing an active lesion is the test that actually answers the question, and it needs an in-person examination.
No — there is no blood test for either. Warts are diagnosed by examination, and HPV testing in women happens through cervical screening, which is a separate programme.
Yes — most STIs cause no symptoms at all.
Untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women silently, and untreated syphilis causes serious problems years later. Absence of symptoms is not absence of infection.
Chlamydia, yes, in many cases. Gonorrhoea, no.
Gonorrhoea now requires an injection given in a clinic because resistance has made oral treatment unreliable. Syphilis also needs specialist treatment.
All of it is free at NHS sexual health services, and they will treat you faster than we can refer you.
It matters — but you do not have to do it yourself. Sexual health services notify partners anonymously, without naming you.
It is one of the most useful things they do, and one of the least known.
No. Nothing in a screen dates an infection or identifies a source.
Chlamydia in particular can be present for years without symptoms, which is worth knowing before drawing conclusions about a current relationship.
Do not urinate for at least an hour before giving a urine sample, or the result may be unreliable. No fasting, and no other preparation.
Generally yes. HIV testing alongside is standard practice, and syphilis is rising sharply in the UK.
And if a possible exposure was in the last 72 hours, go to A&E or sexual health today and ask about PEP rather than waiting to test.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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