Gay and bisexual men have been turned away from STI clinic in Dublin
It was reported the men were turned away from the lack of staff and the lack of capacity
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
A number of gay and bisexual men have been turned away from an STI clinic in Dublin.
The Gay Men’s Health Service has been a long-running health care clinic providing free health checks to gay and bisexual men in Dublin.
However, according to health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly for Fianna Fail – the Irish opposition party – a number of people have been turned away due to the lack of staff.
Donnelly told DublinLive: “No one disputes the power of PrEP but unless there is adequate STI screening services for the LGBT community, PrEP will not be as powerful as it should be.
“Only recently, I have been contacted by several gay men who were turned away from the Gay Men’s Health Service located on Baggot Street, due to a lack of capacity.
“This is an ongoing issue, and one which the staff in the clinic are doing their level best to manage.
“Bearing in mind that of the new patients [more than 11,000] who presented in 2018, 32 per cent were diagnosed with an STI, it is essential that testing takes place as quickly as possible to avoid further transmission.”