South East England, including the Isle of Wight: sexual health and safety

The South East is a patchwork of council-commissioned sexual health services, so the right number depends on where you live. These are the main ones for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Kent and Medway, and Sussex, checked on 18 October 2026. Every NHS sexual health clinic is free and confidential, and none needs a GP referral.

Which service covers you?

Find your area in the table; if it isn't listed, the NHS clinic finder will show your nearest clinic by postcode.

Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton

One service covers the whole area: Let's Talk About It, run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Book through the single number, 0300 300 2016, or online.

It offers STI testing and treatment, HIV testing, treatment and care, contraception including injections, implants and coils, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing and one-to-one support. Psychosexual therapy is also available, but only with a GP referral.

• Isle of Wight: the island's clinic is at St Mary's Hospital, Newport, so there's no need to cross the Solent.
• Home testing: online STI self-sampling kits are available to people aged 18 and over; 16 and 17-year-olds can order a chlamydia kit.

Kent and Medway

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust runs free sexual health clinics across east Kent, Swale and Medway, and in parts of East Sussex, for anyone aged 13 or over.

• Book: 0300 790 0245 (Kent), 0300 123 1678 (Medway), or text 07700 103674. Appointments must be booked in advance; walk-ins aren't accepted. The trust says that from September 2026 you can also book and manage appointments online through its personal health record, and you can register ahead of time.
• Clinics: Ashford (Vicarage Lane), Canterbury (The Gate Clinic), Dover (Discovery Clinic), Folkestone Health Centre, Margate (The Flete Clinic), Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital, the Isle of Sheppey (The Island Clinic), Gillingham (Medway Park) and Chatham (Clover Street), plus Eastbourne (Avenue House) and Hastings (Station Plaza Health Centre).
• What they do: STI testing and treatment, contraception including long-acting methods, HIV treatment and care, and sexual health vaccinations.

The trust is also clear about what its clinics don't cover, which saves a wasted trip: fertility testing, cervical screening, pregnancy advice and occupational vaccinations are among the services it lists as not provided. For those, start with your GP.

Brighton, Hove and West Sussex

University Hospitals Sussex runs free sexual health and contraception (SHAC) clinics, open to everyone, with no GP referral needed. The trust says it offers an appointment within two working days, through walk-in sessions, booked appointments and late clinics, and that it can often diagnose and treat you on the same day. You can choose a male or female member of staff.

• Brighton and Hove: 01273 523388. SHAC East is at the Claude Nicol Centre on Eastern Road, SHAC Central on Morley Street (BN2 9RE), and SHAC West at the Weller Youth Centre, Knoll Park, Stapley Road, Hove (BN3 7JH).
• Crawley, Chichester and Worthing: 01903 285199.

Time-critical help

If a condom split or you think you were exposed to HIV, act today rather than waiting for a routine appointment.

• HIV PEP (medicine that can stop HIV taking hold after an exposure) works best the sooner it starts and must begin within 72 hours: call your clinic, or go to A&E if it's closed.
• Emergency contraception is free from clinics and, since October 2025, from most community pharmacies in England after a private chat with the pharmacist.

Our sexual health hub has the detail, and the free STI testing guide explains when a test is reliable.

After a sexual assault

Two specialist centres cover much of the region around the clock, and neither requires you to go to the police.

• Treetops, the sexual assault referral centre (SARC) for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, is at Mariners House, Waterside Gardens, Fareham. It's contactable 24 hours a day on 0300 123 6616. Its service says you can use it whatever you decide about reporting, and a forensic examination can be carried out whether or not the police are involved. Under-18s can get support from its young people's advisers.
• The Saturn Centre at Crawley Hospital covers Sussex and is open 24 hours a day on 0330 223 0099 for anyone aged 14 and over; call to talk through your options with a nurse.

In Kent, Surrey and the Thames Valley, find your nearest SARC through the NHS; you can book directly. The Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line is free on 0808 500 2222 for anyone 16 or over in England and Wales. In an emergency call 999; if you can't speak, press 55.

Getting there and back

A lot of South East meets involve a train, a ferry or a long drive, which changes the safety maths a little. Before agreeing a time, check your own last train or crossing home and plan to leave well before it, so you're never relying on your date for a lift or a bed. If you're meeting someone from the other side of the Solent or the far end of the county, a first meet somewhere central to you both is easier to walk away from.

Telling a friend where you'll be, and checking in afterwards, matters more when you're further from home. The meeting safely checklist has the full list, and our consent guide covers what English law says.

Reporting scams and crimes

Report Fraud covers the whole South East; for threats or image abuse, go to your local police force.

1. Dating fraud: call your bank first (159 reaches most UK banks), then Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
2. Threats, harassment or intimate image abuse: your local police force on 101 (Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Kent, Sussex, Surrey or Thames Valley), or 999 in an emergency.
3. A member's profile: the members help centre, with the username.

If a match starts talking about money, read how to spot a fake profile. Our safety and consent page has the national numbers, and London's page covers the capital's services if you're commuting in.