STD testing and examination in our sexual health clinic, belfast
Option 1- NO symptoms
Book a GP telephone appointment
If you have NO symptoms but just want tests, you must now book a sexual health telephone consultation with one of our doctors.
The consultation will last 10 minutes. During the consultation the doctor will:
Take a sexual history and and decide if you need to be seen in person or
Advise on STD blood tests or swabs needed.
We will then book you in for the right tests.
If you have genital warts these can be treated by booking directly for a genital warts initial appointment. See prices below.
Option 2- I have symptoms
Book a face to face GP appointment
If you have any symptoms or a rash or feel unwell or are in pain we need to see you int eh clinic
This is a 30 minute consultation. The doctor will:
take a full sexual health history and examine you
they will then perform any tests required.
The doctor will provide a prescription if it can be treated without awaiting results such as for herpes or shingles.
We now have in-house rapid sexual health tests that can give us more information at your appointment.
*In addition to the cost of your consultation or appointment, you will be charged for each individual tests . Prices are below.
*If you also need to be examined we will book you in for a face to face 20 minute GP appointment this is £110
How do I get my STD/STI test results?
Whether you come to the clinic for your STI/STD tests or use our home STD test kits, your results will be processed by the doctor and will be shared with you by
Secure email.
Some people prefer that their results are shared by phone. One of our staff members can
Telephone call if agreed in advance.
What if my STD test results are positive?
We will be in contact with you to recommend treatment and
Provide an electronic prescription if necessary.
In some cases you may need referred to a sexual health clinic or infectious diseases clinic. We can assist you with this and
Provide a Sexual health referral letter
We can also telephone you with your results if preferred. Please let us know in advance.
PRICES OF STI/STD TESTS
£310
£143.50
£118
£144
£120
£105
£76
£77
Frequently asked questions about STD’s/STI’s and genital wart treatment.
Could I Have A Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) But Not Have Any Symptoms?
The answer is, yes.
How Soon Can I Have The STD Tests After The ‘Exposure’ Or Sexually Activity?
If this is your first possible exposure to a sexually transmitted infection (STI) but you have no symptoms then we would consider which STD’s you are at risk of having; this depends on your sexual practices.
High risk: this may due to sexual activity with a prostitute or men having sex with men where tthtere is a risk of HIV, hepatitis B/C and syphilis.
Working forward from the date of exposure we would do the blood test for HIV, hep B/C, after 28 days, but a swab for Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can be done from 14 days or sooner if you have symptoms such as stinging or pus from teh end of the penis.
Most tests can be done from 28 days onwards. But there is a chance of missing syphilis when tests are performed at day 28 ,as syphilis can take as long as three months to show in the blood. where tthere is any concern we would recommend repeating these blood tests for completeness.
In some cases it can also take longer for hepatitis viruses to ‘show’ in the blood stream so if the risk of exposure to something like hepatitis B or C is high we would repeat this in 1-2 months.
The laboratory can also perform a day 10 RAPID RNA test for HIV this is £170
If you are not concerned about a viral infection risk but think you have chlamydia or gonorrhoea due to symptoms then we would test immediately. The time from exposure to developing symptoms for bacterial infection is variable and can be up to 1-2 months. If you have symptoms such as stinging when passing urine, or discharge from the penis or vaginal canal then there is no reason to wait to take a sample.
Do I Have To Wait For The Results Before Getting Treatment For An STD/STI?
If your symptoms clearly show a certain sexually transmitted infection such as herpes, the doctor will treat you for this after taking a swab.
If it looks like genital warts this can be treated without any tests being made.
Similarly, if your symptoms suggest thrush (candida infection), also a common sexually transmitted infection, the doctor will treat you for this while waiting results of laboratory tests.
In some cases you may need to be referred to a sexual health consultant, this can be done privately or via the NHS to a Genito-urinary -medicine (GUM) clinic.
If you have had more than one known partner then the doctor will advise you to attend the GUM clinic (Genito-urinary medicine) with our medical letter to ensure that any sexual partners are contacted to get tested. This is called contact tracing and and is very important to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
Is This The Same As A GUM (Genito-Urinary Medicine) Clinic?
GUM clinics are usually run by the NHS. There are many GUM clinics throughout Northern Ireland and you can actually ring-up yourself to make an appointment without seeing a doctor in advance.
STD screening tests will be performed as needed. The wait time for a GUM clinic appointment is currently 2-3 weeks. If you are worried about an infection then you can see Dr. Graham sooner- usually the same day or next to at least get an idea what might be going on. You do not have to have the STD blood tests done privately.
If you do decide to have STD tests done privately with Dr. Graham the results will remain confidential unless you wish your NHS GP to be aware of them also. In some cases, it may be vital that you also attend a GUM clinic if for example you have an infection like HIV, Hep B or C.
How are genital warts treated?
Genital warts can be treated at the Vitalis Health clinic in Belfast City Centre. Cryotherapy is used to treat genital warts by freezing them with Histofreeze. The doctor applies this directly to the wart. to kill the tissue and the virus.
First, the tissue is frozen for 40 seconds then the tissue is allowed to thaw.
The success rate for patients receiving treatment for genital warts by Cryotherapy is between 44% and 75%, after 6-10 weeks of treatment. The effectiveness of Cryotherapy depends upon various factors. They may include one or more of the following:
The number of warts you have.
The size of the warts, and
the location. If in the anal area this can be stubborn and require surgical removal
Are there any side-effects with freezing genital warts?
Applying histofreeze to the genital wart causes a little discomfort at the time then afterwards the skin can scab over with a curst and become red or pale in colour after the scab falls off.
We recommend that you use vaseline to the area for ten days after the wart treatment.
we can also use the Hyfrecator to remove warts but this involves a local anaesethetic and is longer procedure. We can discuss this type of wart treatment when we see you.
Why Choose Vitalis Health for Private STD tests in Northern Ireland?
All of our STD tests are administered with the utmost confidentiality and discretion. The results are reported and shared by Dr Graham. Your report will give clear instructions on their meaning, what to do next. We even report our bloods on the weekend when there is a abnormal result that requires immediate attention. Our patient reviews show how efficient, attentive, confidential and effective our care is. We are frequented by visitors from all over the world passing through Belfast City and from places all over Northern Ireland such as Lisburn, Antrim, Derry/Londonderry, Strabane, Omagh, Enniskillen, Armagh, Tyrone, Coleraine, Larne, Craigavon. We are an experienced team who want your time at Vitalis Health to feel important, seamless and a great experience.
If we get anything wrong we will aim to learn from this and improve our service further using our robust complaints procedure.