Yorkshire and the Humber, Barnsley to Hull: sexual health and safety

Yorkshire and the Humber is a big region with a different sexual health service in almost every council area. Here are the main ones, checked on 18 October 2026. All NHS sexual health services are free and confidential, and none needs a GP referral.

Clinics at a glance

Find your area first: each council commissions its own service, so the number you need depends on where you live.

Barnsley

Barnsley's sexual health teams work from Gateway Clinic, Unit 1, Gateway Plaza, Sackville Street, Barnsley S70 2RD, in the town centre. Call 0800 055 6442 to book.

Barnsley Council lists what's on offer there: testing and treatment for STIs and HIV, free contraception (all methods, including emergency contraception), pregnancy testing, hepatitis B vaccination, and advice if you're simply unsure or worried about something. If you'd rather test at home, ask the clinic what's currently offered.

Sheffield

Sheffield Sexual Health, part of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, is free, including any treatment you need, and you don't need a letter from your GP. Phone 0114 226 8888 to book or to speak to a health adviser. The service also offers self-testing kits, which you can request through its website.

What to expect, according to the service:

• Samples: for a full screen you may be asked for urine, a blood sample and possibly vaginal, oral or anal swabs. Only the samples you agree to are taken, and swabs aren't usually painful.
• Results: some are ready during your visit, so treatment can start straight away; others arrive one to two weeks later.
• Privacy: your notes are strictly confidential and aren't shared with your GP without your permission, except in rare safeguarding situations, which staff would normally discuss with you first.
• Support: every patient can have a trained chaperone; interpreters are free with a few days' notice, and a portable hearing loop is available.
• Condoms: free at any clinic for people aged 16 or over.

York and North Yorkshire

YorSexualHealth is the integrated service for York and North Yorkshire, run by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Call 01904 721111 for advice and appointments, or visit yorsexualhealth.org.uk.

• Postal kits: anyone living in North Yorkshire can request a free, confidential postal STI kit. The chlamydia test needs no examination, only a urine sample or a self-taken vaginal swab.
• PEP: free after a condom breaks or after sex without a condom with someone who may have HIV. Call 01904 721111 as soon as possible.
• Condoms: free for under-25s from GP practices and community pharmacies, and for young people at sexual health clinics.
• Emergency contraception: community pharmacies provide it through the NHS pharmacy contraception service.

Hull and the East Riding

In Hull, the charity Yorkshire MESMAC delivers sexual health prevention work for the council and offers free, confidential HIV and STI testing outside clinic settings, including a five-minute finger-prick HIV test. Its Hull centre is at 8 King Street, HU1 2JJ; book online or call 01482 291190. For full clinic services in Hull and the East Riding, use the NHS clinic finder.

Time-critical help

PEP and emergency contraception can't wait for the next routine appointment.

• HIV PEP has to start within 72 hours of sex, ideally within 24: call a clinic, or go to A&E out of hours.
• 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 explains more, and the free STI testing guide covers when to test after a new partner.

After a sexual assault

Two specialist centres in the region answer 24 hours a day, and neither requires you to go to the police.

• Hackenthorpe Lodge, 126 Occupation Lane, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield S12 4PQ, is the sexual assault referral centre (SARC) for people aged 16 and over in South Yorkshire, whether the assault was recent or in the past. It's independent of the police, and you can refer yourself without reporting a crime. Call 0330 223 0099, any time; walk-ins aren't accepted. Children aged 15 and under are seen at the Children's SARC at Sheffield Children's Hospital.
• The CASA Suite, the SARC for Humberside at 810a Hessle Road, Hull HU4 6RD, answers 24 hours a day on 0330 223 0099, for advice or an appointment. You don't have to give personal details to get help.

In West and North Yorkshire, find your nearest SARC through the NHS; you can book directly, without reporting to the police. If you'd rather talk first, the free Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line on 0808 500 2222 is open to anyone 16 or over in England and Wales. In an emergency dial 999; if speaking isn't safe, stay on the line and press 55.

When everyone knows everyone

In a market town or a former pit village, the person you match with may well know your cousin, your boss or your ex. That isn't a reason not to date; it's a reason to be deliberate about what you share.

• Use a profile photo that isn't on your other social media, and keep your surname, workplace and home address out of early chats.
• Meet the first time somewhere neutral rather than your local, so you can leave without an audience.
• Assume screenshots can travel, and only send what you'd be comfortable with getting out.

The discretion guide goes further, and the meeting safely checklist covers the night itself.

Reporting scams and crimes

Report Fraud covers all of Yorkshire and the Humber; threats and harassment go to your local police force.

1. Dating fraud: phone your bank before anything else (159 reaches most UK banks), then Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
2. Threats, harassment or intimate image abuse: South Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Police or Humberside Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
3. A member's profile: the members help centre, with the username.

If a match is pushing to move off the site or talking about money, read how to spot a fake profile. National numbers are on the safety and consent page.