A new report has dubbed Cardiff University the worst for providing students with sexual health services, whilst Nottingham came out on top. This is according to a sexual health league of Russell Group universities, which were graded on categories including services, on-campus information and student satisfaction. The report also revealed that some students faced a ‘postcode lottery’.
The report was compiled by Dr Ed, an online doctor service, based on details provided by student welfare representatives of the sexual wellness facilities offered by universities. According to many, information on campus was ‘weak or non-existent’, and some students’ access to services depended on their postcode. Dr Ed’s clinical consultant Dr Jasper Mordhorst reported, ‘If we lived in certain postcodes, we could access the university health centre facilities, but on other occasions we were told we would have to go to the local GUM clinic. Providing a standardised sexual health service to all students would seem like a great step forward.’
Nottingham, Kings College London and Bristol University led the table with a First Class ranking, whilst a 2:1 was awarded to York, Exeter, Cambridge, Glasgow, Queen Mary’s University London, University College London, Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham University. Oxford University, Imperial College London, Queens University Belfast, Southampton and Edinburgh University received a 2:2 grade, whilst a Third went to Warwick, Sheffield, Leeds and London School of Economics. The bottom three, with a ‘Fail’, were Durham, Manchester and Cardiff.
Chlamydia disease is the number one reason women cannot conceive in later life and around 10% of under 25-year-olds carry it. According to Mordhorst, ‘Universities are in a prime position to communicate, educate and encourage testing, and should focus on making sexual health services easy to access, multi-cultural and educational. Young people tend to change partners much more than other age groups, so transmission rates of STI’s are much higher.’
A spokesperson for Cardiff responded, ‘Cardiff University takes the matter of its students’ health very seriously – sexual health is no exception. We have reviewed the report in question and consider its findings inaccurate. The organisation that carried out this study has been contacted and we hope the full scope of our comprehensive sexual health services will be considered in a revised report.’
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