'Sex in the City': Birmingham's take on sexual health delivery.

©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2009: 35(2) Why was the change needed? Birmingham is a multicultural city in the UK with a vibrant and dynamic population. Adults and young people wanted a service with easy access, anonymity and high acceptability. Birmingham city centre already had a National Health Service (NHS) walk-in centre located on the ground floor of Boots the Chemist, situated in the centre of the main shopping area. The presence of the chlamydia screening team and the NHS walk-in centre made Boots an ideal location for delivery of sexual health services. These services were well attended by clients often seeking emergency contraception as well as needing general contraceptive advice and sexual health screening, which was not always a priority for the centre. The location, as well as the diversity of population that could access these services, was seen as an incentive by the Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT to collaborate with Boots to deliver comprehensive sexual health services alongside other necessary services. Accessibility to services was one of the nine key elements to the ‘You’re Welcome Quality Criteria’.1 It provided an opportunity to expand the delivery of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)2 and young peoples’ services with the goal of reducing the teenage pregnancy rate in the city.3