Safeguarding teenagers in a sexual health service during the COVID-19 pandemic

Conclusions There was a reduction in consultations for all age groups examined in the 6 months following lockdown. This adds to the evidence that restrictions during lockdown are barriers to young people accessing SHSs. For those who did have a consultation, safeguarding assessments were consistently carried out. Nevertheless, due to reduced contact overall, it is likely that some safeguarding issues remain undisclosed. Multiagency safeguarding networks and telephone consultations with a low threshold for promoting an in-person consultation facilitated access to the SHS and a robust safeguarding pathway during the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Sexually Transmitted Infections - Category: Sexual Medicine Authors: Tags: COVID-19 Health services research Source Type: research