Sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase, yet people still find them very difficult to talk about, let alone seek treatment for. They will live in denial, rather than seek advice from their GP. They also worry it will affect their careers or insurance cover.

This is why private clinics offering STD testing are so important: they allow people to get independent treatment and advice, without involving their GPs, workplace or insurance companies in any way.

There is another important thing to consider: GPs aren’t specialists, and can easily confuse the symptoms of STDs for something else. Early chlamydia, for example, can often be confused with cystitis, which is a non-contagious infection restricted to the urinary tract. It is rare for a GP to offer a STD test for chlamydia in the first instance.

People imagine that private clinics are expensive, but they’re not. If you are referred by your GP, or have STD testing included in your private health care plan, the tests may even be free. All the same, people still find reasons for not going. Excuses range from: “I’ll end up catching something” to “I don’t need STD tests – I’m not sexually promiscuous.”

However, the people having STD tests done at private clinics aren’t tramps and prostitutes! They are ordinary people with ordinary sex lives who, for one reason or another, are worried they may have “caught something.” While some patients do turn up out of concern over one-night stands, many more are in long-term relationships. Some STDs only present their symptoms a considerable time after infection – if at all.

We at Same Day Doctor are a highly qualified and specialised team, who offer highly confidential STD tests in a clean and welcoming environment.