East Midlands: free sexual health services and meeting safely

Each county in the East Midlands has its own sexual health service, with its own booking route. All are free and confidential, and none needs a GP referral. Here's who to contact, checked on 18 October 2026.

Who runs testing where you live

Your local service depends on your county (or city), not on which hospital is nearest. Find your row, then read the section below for the detail.

North Nottinghamshire isn't covered by the Nottingham service; use the NHS clinic finder there.

Nottingham and south Nottinghamshire

Nottingham University Hospitals runs clinics for Nottingham City and the southern boroughs of Nottinghamshire. Call 0300 131 7010 for advice, treatment or to book; appointments are made by phone.

• GU Medicine building, City Hospital: the main clinic. Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 7pm, Friday 8.30am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm.
• Victoria Health Centre, Glasshouse Street, NG1 3LW, in the city centre: Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 7pm, shorter hours on Fridays.
• Community clinics in places including Arnold, Beeston, Bulwell, Carlton, Clifton, Hucknall, Stapleford and West Bridgford, mostly in the afternoons and early evenings. West Bridgford and Beeston, for example, run on Thursday afternoons into the evening.

You register on arrival each time, even if you've been before. A friend or partner can come into the appointment with you if you ask, and interpreters are available.

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland

The Integrated Sexual Health Service's main clinic has moved to Haymarket Health, on the first floor of Leicester's Haymarket Shopping Centre, with another clinic in Loughborough and further sites across the area; find them at leicestersexualhealth.nhs.uk. It offers STI testing and treatment, HIV testing, PEP and PrEP, contraception (including emergency contraception) and free pregnancy testing.

• Home testing: SH:24 provides free home STI tests to Leicestershire and Rutland residents aged 16 and over, no appointment needed.
• Rapid HIV tests: free finger-prick tests with results in under 30 minutes at Trade (0116 254 1747) and LASS (0116 255 9995).
• PEP: call 0800 318 908 or 0300 124 0102, Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, or 0116 295 1212 on Saturdays 10am to 4pm. Out of hours, go to A&E at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Derby and Derbyshire

Derbyshire Community Health Services runs the free service for Derby and Derbyshire under the name Your Sexual Health Matters (yoursexualhealthmatters.org.uk). You can order an STI test online there, find clinics, and get free condoms, contraception, HIV testing and PrEP.

Lincolnshire

LiSH (Lincolnshire Sexual Health) offers confidential STI and HIV testing, treatment and contraception for anyone who needs it, with clinics in places including Lincoln, Boston and Grantham. Lincolnshire is a big county, so phone for clinic times or check the website before you make the trip.

Northamptonshire

The Northamptonshire Integrated Sexual Health Service (NISH) has clinics at Northampton General Hospital and the Ashwood Centre at St Mary's Hospital, Kettering. Adults over 25 can call 0300 027 0110 or book a clinic appointment online through the Lilie Hub booking site. Free postal STI kits are offered to 16 to 24-year-olds, and a free HIV kit to anyone in Northamptonshire who may be at risk of HIV.

When local clinics are closed, the National Sexual Health Helpline (0300 123 7123, weekdays 9am to 8pm) can answer questions, and Switchboard's LGBT+ helpline is free on 0800 0119 100, 10am to 10pm daily.

The 72-hour window

Two things can't wait for a convenient appointment, so it helps to know the routes now.

HIV PEP must start within 72 hours of sex, and works best much sooner. Phone your county service as soon as it opens; if it's closed, go to A&E. Leicester's PEP numbers are above.

Emergency contraception is free from clinics and, since October 2025, from most community pharmacies in England. Leicester's service also points out that an emergency coil can be fitted up to five days after unprotected sex and left in as ongoing contraception. The sexual health hub explains both.

After a sexual assault

You can contact a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) directly, and get medical care, emergency contraception and a forensic examination without deciding whether to report to the police.

Day or night, you can also talk to the free Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line on 0808 500 2222 (England and Wales, age 16 and over). In an emergency, call 999 and press 55 if you can't speak.

Reporting scams and crimes

• Dating fraud: if money or bank details are involved, ring your bank on 159 first, then report to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
• Harassment, threats or intimate image abuse: your local force on 101: Derbyshire Constabulary, Leicestershire Police, Lincolnshire Police, Northamptonshire Police or Nottinghamshire Police. Use 999 if you're in danger.
• A member's profile: the members help centre, with the username.

Meeting someone in the East Midlands

The East Midlands mixes big cities with market towns and a lot of countryside, so a first meet can easily mean a half-hour drive. Pick somewhere public and roughly halfway, drive yourself or know your own way home, and tell a friend where you'll be. An example of setting expectations in a message: "Happy to meet for a coffee in Leicester first and see how we get on. No pressure if it's not a match."

Before your first meet, run through the meeting safely checklist, and if a match brings up money, read how to report a dating scam. The consent guide and the safety and consent page have the national numbers. Over the border? See the West Midlands or Yorkshire and the Humber guides.