Casual dating in London: free sexual health clinics and staying safe

London is easy for casual dating and easy for testing. Clinics are free, confidential and don't need a GP referral, and in many boroughs you don't even need to leave the flat. Details below were checked on 18 October 2026; opening times change, so check the clinic's page before you travel.

Which route suits you?

The quickest route depends on whether you have symptoms and how urgent it is. If you feel fine and just want a routine check after a new partner, order a kit online; if something hurts, itches or looks different, go to a clinic.

Test at home: Sexual Health London

Sexual Health London (SHL) is an online NHS service for people without symptoms, or with non-urgent symptoms. You register at shl.uk, answer an online consultation, and if the service is right for you a free home testing kit is posted out. You take your own samples, post them back, and results usually arrive within a few days.

SHL is commissioned by London boroughs, so enter your postcode at shl.uk to check what's offered where you live. Some boroughs also offer free contraception online, including Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Hackney, Camden, Islington, Westminster and Ealing, among others listed on the Chelsea and Westminster page.

If you have symptoms such as pain, discharge, sores or a rash, go to a clinic instead, where you can usually be tested and treated in one visit.

Clinics you can visit

Central and south London have several NHS clinics with published hours. These are the ones we checked:

56 Dean Street hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8am to 7pm, Wednesday noon to 7pm, Friday 9am to 4pm and Saturday 11am to 4pm. It's closed on Sundays and bank holidays, and its phone lines keep shorter hours than the clinic.

Burrell Street hours: Monday, Friday and Saturday 8am to 3.30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 8am to 7.30pm, Wednesday noon to 7.30pm.

At the Guy's and St Thomas' walk-in clinics, people under 18 and anyone needing emergency contraception or PEP are seen first. If the clinic is full for the day you may be asked to come back tomorrow, which is why turning up at opening time pays off.

Elsewhere in London, the NHS clinic finder searches by postcode. Every NHS sexual health clinic is free, and staff won't share what you discuss with your GP without your permission.

PEP, the morning-after pill and vaccines

PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is a month of HIV medicine that can stop an infection taking hold after a possible exposure. It has to start within 72 hours, ideally much sooner: go to a clinic the same day, or to A&E if clinics are shut. Both 56 Dean Street and Burrell Street open on Saturdays.

Emergency contraception is free from clinics, and since October 2025 most community pharmacies in England can also provide the morning-after pill free after a private chat with the pharmacist. The sooner it's taken, the better it works.

Vaccines: 56 Dean Street offers hepatitis B vaccination for people at higher risk from sex, the HPV vaccine for gay men aged 45 or under, and the gonorrhoea vaccine, which can be booked online. Our sexual health hub explains who the gonorrhoea vaccine is aimed at.

After a sexual assault: the Havens

The Havens are London's sexual assault referral centres, providing specialist medical care, emergency contraception, forensic examinations and follow-up support. They take self-referrals as well as referrals from GPs, sexual health clinics, A&E and the police, so you don't have to report to the police to be seen.

• Urgent line, 24 hours: 020 3299 6900, if the assault happened within the past seven days and you are 13 or over. Staff will advise whether to come in straight away for medical care or a forensic examination.
• Non-urgent line: 020 3299 1599, weekdays 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays.

At any hour, the Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line is free on 0808 500 2222 for anyone 16 or over in England and Wales. If you're in danger now, call 999; if you can't speak, stay on the line and press 55.

Reporting scams and crimes in London

• Romance or dating fraud: ring your bank first. Dialling 159 reaches most UK banks on a number that can't be spoofed. Then report to Report Fraud online or on 0300 123 2040. Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025.
• Threats, harassment or someone sharing your intimate images: report to the Metropolitan Police (or the City of London Police in the Square Mile) on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
• A member's profile or messages: report it through the members help centre with their username.

The scam reporting guide explains what evidence to keep, and how to spot a fake profile covers the warning signs before it gets that far.

Meeting someone in London

A busy pub, bar or café you already know is a better first meet than someone's flat, however convenient their postcode. London makes this easy: pick somewhere near a station on your own line, so leaving early is a ten-second decision rather than a logistics puzzle.

Before you go:

1. Tell a friend where you'll be and roughly when you expect to be home.
2. Check your last train or bus home on the TfL journey planner, because the last service is often earlier than you think.
3. Keep your phone charged and your own money for a cab.
4. Agree what you're both after in messages first. An example opener, if you want one: "Fancy a drink near London Bridge on Thursday? Just to see if there's a spark, no pressure either way."

Consent applies all evening, not just at the start, and either of you can change your mind at any point. The meeting safely checklist, the consent guide and our safety and consent page cover the rest. Heading out of town? The South East and East of England guides cover the commuter belt.