STD kits dispensed from vending machine

A sex clinic is offering teenagers pregnancy tests and infection checks from a vending machine designed for fizzy drinks.

It is aimed at cutting under-age pregnancies and infections in Lambeth and Southwark, where rates are among the highest in the country.

The new clinic, run by King's College Hospital, is painted orange and filled with computer terminals that allow people to register on the treatment system.

Staff are posted at the doors to "greet" people who need help but the idea is that clients manage the system themselves. If they have symptoms of a sex infection, or want a pregnancy test, they go to a kiosk to collect a token for the vending machine - a converted soft drinks dispenser. The machine then releases free test kits for pregnancy or infections such as chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Women and men then leave a sample to be tested and can get the results by text, phone or post. They can also ask to see a health specialist. Rachel Paxford-Jenkins, who helped set up the £1million Camberwell Sexual Health Centre in Denmark Hill, said: "It is a massive challenge to reach people who need sexual health advice and we need to make it as easy as possible.

"Why shouldn't getting tested for a sexually transmitted infection be as easy as lodging money in a bank machine or automatically checking yourself on to a flight? The vending machine has been a huge success, especially among men."

Ms Paxford-Jenkins added: "They can go through the whole system without having to talk to anyone - many people want that."

The clinic was refurbished by Guy's and St Thomas' Charity. Bosses at the centre believe obtaining the kits should be as easy as using a cash machine.

London has the highest rate of sex infections in the country. About 90,000 people were diagnosed last year with conditions such as chlamydia, which can leave women infertile.

The clinic is the first of its kind to install computers that enable children to access sex tests and advice without speaking to an adult.

Almost 70 in 1,000 girls in Southwark fall pregnant before they turn 18, while 80 in every 1,000 get pregnant in Lambeth by the same age - the highest rate in the country. The inner London average is 52.

Experts believe the stigma of sex infections is stopping people from getting treatment but services were also slashed across the city last year as trusts fought to plug deficits.