Scots schools to get sexual health clinics

SIXTY thousand Scots pupils are to be given access to sexual health services in school, allowing children as young as 13 to receive condoms and pregnancy tests.

Ministers have approved the creation of clinics for all rural secondary schools in Scotland after the SNP Government accepted expert advice that many teenagers in country areas struggle to visit GPs or family planning clinics.

The unprecedented move is part of a bid to tackle Scotland's high rate of sexually-transmitted diseases and pregnancy among teenagers.

Pupils both above and below the age of consent will be able to get contraceptives – and tests for chlamydia – on school premises without the knowledge of their parents, provided nurses are sure they are not being abused or exploited.

Last night, critics attacked the move and warned that it could prove a danger to teenagers' health. The recommendation, now officially endorsed by the Scottish Government, was made in a report by sexual health experts on the Government's National Sexual Health Advisory Committee.

Research by the committee found that access to health services in rural areas is "challenging", with many residents living more than a 30-minute drive from a GP or chemist.

It found Dumfries and Galloway had the highest rate in Scotland of chlamydia among under-25s, while Highland had the third highest rate. Dumfries and Galloway also had the second highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Scotland among 13 to 15-year-olds. Abortion rates in Perth and Kinross and East Lothian are above the national average.

Around one quarter of under-16s in Scotland are sexually active and the nation's sexual health record is one of the worst in Europe.

Shirley Fraser, health improvement programme manager at NHS Health Scotland and author of the report, said: "The view of those who contributed to the report is that consideration should be given to providing services in or near to schools and that this should include sexual health information and services such as chlamydia testing, pregnancy testing and condoms."

She added: "In terms of wider contraception provision in schools, it will be up to individual schools and school health services to agree what to provide."

A small number of Scottish schools currently offer some sexual health services, including offering condoms, pregnancy tests and testing for chlamydia. But this is the first time the move has been authorised on such a massive scale.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "We would anticipate that these services would be available to the whole school population, although this would be determined by local consultation.

"The level of health service provided would depend entirely on the setting. A number of schools in Scotland already provide general health advice, including sexual health advice. These may offer pregnancy testing, chlamydia testing and free condoms. No school in Scotland provides emergency contraception – the 'morning-after pill' – and there are no plans for this to change."

Lorraine Mann, a health promotion specialist at NHS Highland and a member of the working group which compiled the report, said pupils in remote areas needed better access to sexual health services because they often live so far away from clinics that attending appointments is impossible.

Mann said: "Pupils are often bussed to school and sexual health services are many miles away. It could be an 80-mile round trip to the nearest GP. There has always been a lack of understanding about this problem.

"Young people in remote and rural areas simply do not have the same access to services as those in more populated areas. The question is whether there's a way of redressing that through using school nurses."

But critics last night raised grave concerns. Scottish Conservative health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: "Simply to hand out condoms in a school is sending out the wrong message and not encouraging personal responsibility. They need far more information and education. If it was going to happen then this is an area that requires much more consideration."

Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, said the move would not go ahead in Catholic schools and should not go ahead in non-denominational schools.

He said:

"There are other places where pregnancy testing is available with services that young people can access. To place them in the context of schools, where there should be a message about discouraging sexual activity, is contradictory and confusing for young people."

However, Eleanor Coner, information officer for the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, backed the move. She said: "I know that this idea will upset some parents and greatly anger others, but parents should not be alarmed. It is something that would be done very carefully."