Northern Ireland: sexual health services and staying safe

Northern Ireland's sexual health services are run by the five Health and Social Care (HSC) trusts, with the Public Health Agency behind the free online testing service. Testing and treatment are free and confidential. Details checked on 18 October 2026; clinic times change, so phone before you travel.

How Northern Ireland does it differently

Three things catch out people who've used services in England, Scotland or Wales. First, sexual health clinics here are usually called GUM clinics (genitourinary medicine) and are run by HSC trusts, not the NHS. Second, almost everything is by appointment, booked by phone, and some booking lines open only for a short window, such as Belfast's two hours each weekday morning. Third, fraud reporting goes to Report Fraud, as in England and Wales, not to the police directly as in Scotland.

So the practical order is: no symptoms, order SH:24; symptoms, ring your trust's booking line when it opens.

Free home testing: SH:24

If you have no symptoms, you can order a free home STI test from SH:24 at sh24.org.uk, which has served Northern Ireland since October 2019. Working with the HSC trusts, it tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV. The Rainbow Project says kits take three to four working days to arrive and results come by text within seven days. Samples go back in a free-post envelope.

If you'd rather the kit didn't come to your home, the Rainbow Project will accept SH:24 deliveries at its Belfast office for collection during office hours; contact it after ordering. If you have symptoms, or can't take your own samples because of a disability, go to a GUM clinic instead.

GUM clinics by trust

Most clinics are by appointment, booked by phone.

The Western Trust also takes bookings online at sxt.health. The Northern Trust's PrEP team is on 0738 482 0826, and the Western Trust's PrEP contact is 078 1853 8895.

What to expect at a Northern Trust clinic

The Northern Trust's clinics run Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm, and offer testing and treatment for STIs and HIV, emergency contraception, PEP, PrEP, and hepatitis A, hepatitis B and HPV vaccination for people at higher risk. Some results are ready on the day; most take about two weeks. Negative results come by text, and the clinic contacts you directly if anything needs follow-up. Some tests may need repeating 12 weeks later.

Rapid testing: the Rainbow Project

The Rainbow Project, a charity, offers free, confidential rapid HIV and syphilis tests at its Belfast and Foyle centres, Monday to Thursday 10am to 5pm, by appointment, for people aged 18 and over. Rapid gonorrhoea testing is available at the Belfast centre only. Book on 028 9031 9030 (Belfast) or 028 7128 3030 (Foyle), or online. It also runs a monthly drop-in rapid HIV and syphilis session at the Belfast LGBT Centre, usually on the second Tuesday from 5pm to 8pm (not in July).

Time-critical help

HIV PEP has to start within 72 hours of sex, the sooner the better; phone your GUM clinic straight away, or go to an emergency department if it's closed. Contraception, including emergency contraception, is free in Northern Ireland from GPs, sexual and reproductive health services and online through SH:24. The sexual health hub explains more.

After a sexual assault: the Rowan

The Rowan is Northern Ireland's regional sexual assault referral centre, open 24 hours a day, all year, on 0800 389 4424 (free from landlines; mobile calls may be charged). You can self-refer without going to the police, and a friend, relative or support worker can make the first contact for you. In an emergency, or if you're injured, call 999.

The Rowan can offer:

• a forensic medical examination by a specially trained doctor, with evidence stored for adults while they decide whether to report
• emergency contraception
• an HIV risk assessment and, if needed, preventive treatment, which must start within 72 hours
• STI testing and treatment
• emotional support, help making a police report if you want to, and referral to counselling

On a night out: Ask for Angela

Under the PSNI's Ask for Angela scheme, if you feel unsafe or threatened in a participating bar or club, you can quietly ask staff for "Angela". Trained staff will help you reunite with a friend, get to a taxi, or call security or the police. The PSNI publishes a map and A to Z of registered venues, and venues register through Hospitality Ulster. It's a good reason to make that first meet somewhere public and licensed.

Consent and reporting

Northern Ireland's law defines consent in article 3 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008: a person consents "if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice". The consent guide and the safety and consent page explain what that means in practice.

• Dating fraud: if money has gone, ring your bank via 159 first, then Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040, which covers Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales.
• Threats, harassment or intimate image abuse: the PSNI on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
• A suspicious member: send their username to the members help centre.

Meeting someone in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is small enough that a casual date may turn out to know your cousin, your colleague or your ex. If discretion matters to you, keep your main photo free of anything recognisable, hold back your surname and workplace until you've met, and read our discretion guide.

For the meet itself, a busy bar in Belfast city centre or a café in Derry/Londonderry beats someone's house. Tell a friend where you'll be, sort your own way home, and leave whenever you like. Run through the meeting safely checklist first, and read how to spot a fake profile if a match won't meet but keeps chatting. Over the water? The Scotland and North West guides cover the nearest ferry ports.