I work in a sexual health clinic...ama

[Hereandthereandeverywhere]

Go for it! Nothing is too much

Yes, they do change. But please go and have it checked if you're worried. We see hundreds of vulvas and vaginas

The issue with this, is that lack of inclusive practices stops people from accessing support and treatment, leading to poorer health outcomes across the board.

This thread is really interesting. My DD started online dating after ending a long relationship and the poor thing caught herpes and gonorrhea! She was only 22, poor thing, but the clinic were marvellous and it was all treated well and promptly.

One thing I've decided from this thread, being a widow aged 60, is I'm not taking the risk of dating again! I have enough fun dealing with osteoarthritis, and don't fancy an STD as well.

Yes, so probably best not to exclude the vast majority of women by calling them chest feeding, birthing cervix havers, and so on. Just 'women' is fine, thanks. Females if you must.

Does it concern you that your preferred language may confuse/exclude those with English as a second language/poor education? I believe relevant parts of the census have been declared unreliable as people haven’t understood the inclusive speak.

Also, do you worry about women self excluding because of the language?

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ons-wales-english-newham-england-b1118978.html

What is the most common hair colour of men who assault women? Eye prescription? Are they nice likely to be Trekkies or into Battlestar Galactica? Which of those men would you also put a super special protective circle around? Same fucking difference. They're all male. Your self-righteousness around language apparently doesn't extend to recognising the appropriation of the language of those with DSDs. So pious about fuck all.

Agree. I didn't get this at all!

Isn't it always the way.

OP are you a clinician? Nurse or Doctor?
Some of your responses seem misinformed and there's a lot of 'we' do this and that, not 'I' do.
Your opening post says you work in a sexual health clinic but not what your actual role is. I appreciate you may be being vague for anonymity but working in a sexual health clinic doesn't necessarily mean qualified to hand out advice

Does your service help with managing prolapse, or just diagnose and refer on?

Always wondered where that sits with health services.

Thank you OP. It sounds like you live in one of the (increasingly few) areas of the UK with excellent support services for all things sexual health as well as HIV.

Could you also clarify, for anyone interested, what questions someone is requested to answer when going to a SH clinic for STI/HIV testing and if they are compulsory?

(happy to refer to myself as cis)

Virtue signalling.
It was completely unnecessary to add that in brackets into your post, it was unrelated to the other content you wrote.

Course! Like I've said, everything is optional. We start with taking a medical history (sexual health clinic notes are kept on a separate system so we can't see any medical history and no one outside of the clinic can access our notes). We ask the body parts your sexual partner has (that'll cause a stir amongst many), when the last sex was and the type, and how many partners in the past 3 months. This ensures we do the right testing in the right places. We then ask some social questions. Things like drug and alcohol use, smoking, and we ask a couple of safeguarding questions about home life, domestic violence and non consensual sex. That's the basics, depending on presentation we may ask about contraception etc

Can I specify having a female only HCP examine me and following on from your comments, can I be sure that they will be an actual biological female?

OP. Are you a woman?

I’m sorry, but your advice regarding genital herpes is unbelievably unkind. It’s not OK to tell patients that they have no obligation to mention the condition to future partners. The fact that many people may be carriers, asymptomatic or otherwise, in no way obviates a new partner’s responsibility to share that they have it. Although unlikely, asymptomatic shedding is a thing that happens, and if you happen to be in the 20% who don’t have it you should have the right to say that you’re not prepared to take the risk. This is particularly important for any patients who might be immunocompromised.

I can’t believe that someone who works in a GUM clinic would advise patients to violate the consent of future partners in this way. It’s right to disclose it and it’s their right to decide whether they are willing to take that risk.

You can certainly ask to br examined by a professional with a specific gender, but asking for proof is not okay

No but you would expect that if you request for a female person , you would be seen by a female sexed person. This is why we must have clear guidance of how sex and gender are used in the NHS, and a transgender person cannot claim to be the opposite sex for exactly these reasons.

That sounds very much to me like you'd be prepared to send a man who says he's a woman and then accuse the patient of being inappropriate and somehow to blame if she objects (the famous imaginary "genital inspections" that live alongside other fantasies within this ideology).

Why do you think your patients might require "proof" that you've sent a woman, as they requested? Why might they not be sure? Do you employ women who can't be recognised as women? Do you send men when patients have requested women? Does your "inclusivity" create distrust because people can't believe the words you use?

Thanks for the thread OP. Haven't RTFT.
Do female patients have the right to request a female staff member? And if one of your colleagues was a trans -identifying male, would the service accept they were not a female staff member? Or would the patient be expected to accept a trans-identifying male staff member?

Do herpes blisters blister and crust over like a cold sore on your mouth or do they stay smooth like a mouth ulcer? Thank you

Do you think all sex workers would take 2 weeks of work unpaid if they did find they had an STI? I don’t think they would

You lost me at 'cis women'. What a disgrace.

A trans male member of staff would be viewed as a male, and the same for a trans woman. All clinicians offer a chaperone for both their protection and the patients