Scottish pubs open doors for STD tests

A sexual health charity is sending volunteers into Scottish pubs to pilot the voluntary testing of young men for diseases such as Chlamydia. The...

A sexual health charity is sending volunteers into Scottish pubs to pilot the voluntary testing of young men for diseases such as Chlamydia.

The Terrence Higgins Trust survey, first of its kind in Scotland, aims to screen 500 men under 25, and will be carried out in semi-rural Argyll and Bute where young adults don't have the same easy access to sexual health services as city-dwellers.

Project manager Catriona Mitchell told The Publican the Trust has just started asking licensees in Oban and Dunoon to support the initiative, which involves taking urine samples, and said the scheme could be rolled out across the country if judged a success.

She said: "We are literally reaching out to young people in the places where they go to socialise, and simply asking them to consider having a test - nobody is put under any pressure, and our volunteers know what they are doing."

She added: "It will hopefully help to raise awareness of the difficulties and dangers many young adults face."

The figures for sexually transmitted diseases for the under-25's has rocketed in Scotland, and Chlamydia is reckoned a particular threat.

One of the first venues to sign up for the scheme was food-led venue The Waterfront Bar in Oban, where manager Alex Needham said: "I'm perfectly happy to support the project, so long as the questions and testing happen away from the food operation - I think that could be off-putting.

"We have music nights, like open mike sessions, and I can see it perhaps taking place during those without causing any bother.

"It's a serious issue, maybe the trade can play a useful role, and I don't have any problem with it. I'll be interested to see how many others follow suit."