Sexual health

19 December 2022

Your request

I'm working on a project on how to combat the increasing rate of syphilis in the London Borough of Lambeth.

I need some information about the approaches that have been utilized earlier in tackling the increasing rate of syphilis

I already checked online but I did not get the information particular to the London borough of Lambeth.

Please I need info about what approaches have been used before now in tackling the increasing rate of Syphilis and the results.

Our response

Syphilis is one of the five most commonly diagnosed STIs in Lambeth; the others being chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts and herpes. Given the general burden of STIs in our population, untreated STIs remain a concern in protecting the reproductive health of our residents. Lambeth's approach to tackling rising numbers of cases of Syphilis is in line with England and national recommendations. In Lambeth we continue to:

1) Increase testing* frequency for Syphilis (and gonorrhoea) in our Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Clinics, especially for Gay, Bisexual and men who have sex with men (GBMSM).**

2) Commission voluntary organisations (e.g. Love, Sex, Life) to work in the community to educate our residents and target groups about STIs, including Syphilis.

3) Sustain promotion for the need for STI testing in venues, such as GP surgeries, clinics, pharmacies and nightclubs

*Note: actions to reduce Syphilis are the same as for the other STIs.

**Note: Lambeth testing figures are consistently above the national average in England; see below table. (OHID fingertips) - https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth/data#page/4/gid/8000035/pat/6/par/E12000007/ati/402/are/E09000022/iid/91307/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1