The Primary Care Directorate of the Lanzarote Health Area, attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, has launched at the Tías Health Center a specific consultation for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), called ‘Safe Point’.
This new service, operational since last December, aims to improve accessibility, promote early detection and optimize the comprehensive approach to STIs, whose incidence has experienced a sustained increase in recent years, especially among the young population.
‘Safe Point’
The ‘Safe Point’ consultation is conceived as a point of rapid and confidential access aimed at people over 16 years of age, sexually active, who wish to undergo screening or who present suspicion of infection. The service attends in the morning, from Monday to Friday, with the purpose of early identification of pathologies such as HIV, other STIs and viral hepatitis, thus contributing to the protection of individual and community health.
The action plan is based on a comprehensive approach that covers prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, in addition to improving the quality of life of affected people, without forgetting the fight against stigma and discrimination associated with these infections.
Access and operation
In the first consultation, the nursing staff takes the medical history, reviews the vaccination schedule, and requests pertinent microbiological studies based on the sexual practices reported. Likewise, rapid HIV and other STI tests are performed when indicated. In this initial visit, individualized counseling is also offered on sexual health, preventive guidance, and indication for periodic screening in asymptomatic individuals. In addition, a sexual contact notification card is provided, which allows confidential notification to sexual partners, facilitates their examination, and prevents reinfections and new transmissions. .
In case diagnostic tests are performed, the results are communicated within an approximate period of between 48 and 72 hours. When the result is negative, the notification is made by telephone by Nursing. If the result is positive, a face-to-face appointment is scheduled with the medical team to initiate targeted treatment, offer preventive advice, and deliver the corresponding notification card to sexual contacts.
This system allows confidential notification to partners, facilitating their evaluation and early treatment, thus avoiding reinfections and new transmissions.
Comprehensive approach
The director of Primary Care, María Eugenia Perdomo, points out that “the sustained rebound in STI cases, especially among the young population, makes it necessary to facilitate access to this type of consultation on the island, which allow for early diagnosis and agile treatment.” Likewise, she highlights that ‘Safe Point’ is born with the aim of offering a confidential, accessible, and stigma-free care circuit, standardizing the comprehensive management of STIs within Primary Care.
The consultation is staffed by a team of healthcare professionals comprised of two doctors and a nurse, trained in the comprehensive approach to sexually transmitted infections. Interested individuals can access it by requesting a direct appointment through telephone 928 304 547.