A new, fantastic and unusual idea for a society social!!

Yesterday myself the Education Officer and the Welfare Officer fancied a bit of quality time together, every one's so busy we never do get to see each other enough. So we set off on an alternative social...

Well actually that's a lie but hopefully I've got your attention. We actually set off to the G.U.M clinic at the Hallamshire hospital for a full sexual health check-up. Officer teams across the country are forever bombarding their students with condoms and chlamydia tests galore and Sheffield is no exception. However we thought we might take things a little further and practice what we preach.

Getting an appointment at the clinic was incredibly easy, all I had to do was ring up this number 276 6928 and explain that I wanted an appointment. There's no need to explain why you need to go or what your symptoms might be, they already know why you're ringing.

I was worried about finding the entrance to the clinic and was glad to have Holly and Jenni there with me to make the whole mission much less embarrassing. The clinic is on one of the main roads through the hospital and it is roughly opposite the outpatients ward. Here's a map of the building to help you out. If you can cajole a good mate into going with you it will make the whole expedition much less scary.

The clinic itself looks like any other hospital waiting room with fish tank, child's toys and plenty of magazines. There are separate waiting rooms for men and women so you hopefully don't have to worry about bumping into anyone you might wish to avoid. The staff were all very friendly, they're used to dealing with people day in day out so there's really nothing you can say that they haven't heard before. Importantly if you want to be seen by a male or female doctor please let the receptionist know.

As for the test itself the doctor called me from the waiting room to go to a consultation room to discuss any symptoms I might have and my sexual history. They ask you questions such as, when did you last have sex? Do you have symptoms? Are you with a current partner? How long have you been with your partner?

After that it's time to go into the next room to actually get tested. It's not the most pleasant experience in the world but it wasn't half as bad as people have made it out to be. If you can get over the fact that there's a complete stranger looking at your nether regions and think about something else, anything else it tends to help. The nurse explained that everyone reacts differently, most people stay deathly quiet, others grind their teeth, some sob (please don't sob), personally I could not stop laughing.

If you want to get tested for HIV you will have to give a blood sample, personally needles don't bother me but I know for some officers this bit was far more harrowing than anything else. After the blood test it's all over, you can pick up some free condoms and be on your way. The clinic will text you up to 8 days after the test to let you know if you have anything. You can also request to be texted if you are all clear.

All in all it was a fairly pleasant experience, you can leave knowing you have taken a positive step towards taking care of your body. Think of it like an M.O.T check up of your sexual health.