West Midlands: clinics, home testing and safety from Birmingham outwards

In the West Midlands, what you can get by post depends on your postcode, so it pays to know which service is yours. These are the main ones, checked on 18 October 2026. Every one is free and confidential, with no GP referral needed.

Which service is yours?

Your council decides who runs your sexual health service, so start by finding your area below.

Birmingham and Solihull: Umbrella

Umbrella is the sexual health service for Birmingham and Solihull, provided through University Hospitals Birmingham. Its contact number is 0121 237 5700, and its online service locator lists clinics and pharmacies.

Free self-sampling kit: if you're 16 or over and live in Birmingham or Solihull, you can request a kit online at kits.umbrellahealth.co.uk. After a few short questions, you choose where it goes: your home, another address or an Umbrella pharmacy.

• Tests: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis, plus hepatitis B for men who have sex with men.
• Cost: ordering, returning (in the pre-paid package) and results are all free.
• Results: by phone or text, within about 10 working days of the lab receiving your samples. If you've sent samples from more than one body site, results may arrive in separate messages.
• Ordering for someone else: only with their consent.

Umbrella says free condoms are available from its clinics and pharmacies and from some GPs.

Coventry and Warwickshire

The Coventry and Warwickshire Sexual Health Hub runs the area's integrated service, with clinic appointments, drop-in sessions and full HIV care. Coventry City Council says everything is free and confidential, including for under-16s, and HIV testing is free for everyone living in Coventry.

• Book: 0300 247 0069.
• Home testing: Coventry and Warwickshire residents can order a postal STI kit at digital.thesexualhealthhub.co.uk.

Wolverhampton: Embrace

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust runs Embrace, offering STI and HIV testing and treatment, contraception including implants and coils, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing and free condoms, including through the C-Card scheme.

• Clinics: the Fowler Centre at New Cross Hospital (Wednesfield WV10 0QP), West Park Hospital (Park Road West) and Bilston Health Centre (Prouds Lane, WV14 6PW).
• Book: 01902 444444. The booking line is open Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 8pm (from 10am on Tuesdays) and Friday 8.30am to 5pm.
• Advice line: 01902 481689, weekday mornings; confidential text advice from a sexual health nurse on 07480 635 548.

Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire

Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) runs the service, including free condoms, contraception and sexual health testing. Call 0808 178 0955. Residents may be able to order a free, confidential STI test online through SH:24.

If a result comes back positive

A positive result is common, treatable and handled quietly. Umbrella contacts you by phone or text, and NHS sexual health clinics treat sexually transmitted infections free of charge.

1. Follow the instructions in the message and book the treatment appointment you're offered.
2. Hold off on sex until the clinic says treatment has worked.
3. Tell recent partners. It's an awkward text to send, but clinic staff can help you work out who needs to know and how to tell them.

The sexual health hub covers what clinics offer beyond testing.

Time-critical help

PEP and emergency contraception both have deadlines, so don't wait for a routine slot.

• HIV PEP has to start within 72 hours of sex, and works best much sooner: call a 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 short private consultation.

Details on the sexual health hub, and the free STI testing guide explains how long to wait before a test is reliable.

After a sexual assault

Horizon, the sexual assault referral centre (SARC) at Hodge Hill Primary Care, Roughlea Avenue, Birmingham B36 8ND, covers the West Midlands Police area: Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Dudley. It's for anyone of any gender, and its line is open 24 hours on 0330 223 0099. It works by appointment, so call to book. People under 18 are referred to the West Midlands regional children and young people's service.

Elsewhere in the region, find your nearest SARC through the NHS. You can book directly, get medical care and emergency contraception, and have a forensic examination without deciding whether to involve the police. Rape Crisis England & Wales also answers its free support line, 0808 500 2222, around the clock for anyone 16 or over. If you're in danger, call 999; on a mobile, press 55 if you can't talk.

Big-city first meets

A busy city-centre bar is a good place for a first meet: plenty of people, staff on hand and an easy exit. A few habits make it better.

• Watch your drink. If you leave it, get a fresh one. If you or your date suddenly feel far drunker than you should, tell staff and get somewhere safe. Police say to report suspected spiking quickly, because some drugs leave the body within 12 hours; call 999 if someone is very unwell.
• Plan your own way home before you go, whether that's the last train or a taxi you've booked yourself.
• Have an exit line ready. For example: "I've had a nice time, but I'm going to head off now. Take care." You don't owe anyone more than that.

The meeting safely checklist covers the rest, and the consent guide explains what English law says about consent and drink.

Reporting scams and crimes

Report Fraud covers the West Midlands; harassment and threats go to your local police force.

1. Dating fraud: your bank comes first (dial 159 for most UK banks), then Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online.
2. Harassment, threats or intimate image abuse: West Midlands Police, Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Police or Warwickshire Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
3. A member's profile: the members help centre, with the username.

If a match keeps finding reasons not to meet but is happy to talk about money, read how to spot a fake profile. National helplines are on the safety and consent page.