GP disclosure in sexual health clinics

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Do patients who opt out of GP contact in sexual health clinics understand the consequences of this decision?

• IRAS ID

  178867

• Contact name

  Emily Clarke

• Contact email

  emilyrclakre@doctors.org.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Southampton

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 5 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Confidentiality is the cornerstone of genitourinary medicine (GUM). Those who have, or may have, a sexually transmitted infection are often wary and sensitive about information disclosure, and patients are protected from inappropriate disclosure by law.

  At the Sexual Health Clinic at the Royal South Hants Hospital, patients are asked how they do and do not wish to be contacted by the clinic. If the patient fails to attend the clinic for treatment or further investigation despite several texts or phone calls, a letter is often sent to the patient’s GP.
  
  When a patient who has opted-out of GP contact cannot be reached by other means for treatment or further investigation, and there is the potential for serious harm to the patient’s health, a case-by-case decision is made by a GUM consultant about whether to breach the patient’s confidentiality and contact the GP. Untreated GUM conditions may carry serious long-term consequences including infertility and sepsis. Therefore, consultants occasionally find themselves breaching the patient’s confidentiality when the risks to the patient are felt to outweigh the patient’s confidentiality.

  To date there has not been any research performed assessing patients’ attitudes to this breach in confidentiality. Gaining a better understanding of this would help Sexual Health Services to provide better patient care.

  Adult patients attending the Department of Sexual Health at the Royal South Hants Hospital for GUM care who have declined permission for the clinic to contact their GP if required will be asked to participate in this study. After a consent process, structured interviews with 10 patients will be undertaken to assess their attitudes to GP disclosure in detail. The data generated will be used to inform a 2nd phase of the study with development of a questionnaire which will be distributed to a larger group of patients.

• REC name

  South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/SC/0628

• Date of REC Opinion

  24 Dec 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion