Archived: METRO - Greenwich

The Pitstop clinic is a free HIV and sexual health screening clinic for men who have sex with men (MSM). The clinic offers HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia testing, as well as hepatitis B vaccination.

We found the following areas of good practice:

• The service had developed its own social media platform, through which service users could record their sexual activity, for example the type of sex they had had, with whom and whether they had been using alcohol or drugs at the time. This generated an individualised risk assessment for HIV and other STIs.
• Staff carried out outreach work and advertised the clinic through digital social applications in order to direct the advice and awareness of the clinic to potential service users.
• Following a number of attacks on men who used digital social apps, staff provided safety information for service users on how to protect themselves and use apps safely. Additional safety information was available on their website.
• The provider offered a third party hate crime reporting service.
• The provider facilitated support groups both for people over the age of 50, and for young people. The groups provided emotional support and a safe space for individuals to discuss their concerns and needs with their peers.