DORCHESTER'S sexual health service is to close with immediate effect.

The clinic, based in Trinity Street, provided confidential advice and information, pregnancy testing, contraception and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening.

In an announcement, Dorset HealthCare, which operates the clinic, said that Dorchester's sexual health service will be relocated to the existing sexual health clinic in Weymouth.

Weymouth's existing centre for sexual health operates from Weymouth Community Hospital, Melcombe Avenue, and will soon hold appointments for patients from west Dorset, as well as continuing to serve Weymouth residents.

According to Dorset HealthCare the move is part of a wider project by Sexual Health Dorset to relocate sexual health services for west Dorset to Weymouth. The facility is being described as a 'one-stop shop'.

Dorset HealthCare said that the new clinic will have longer opening hours and improved facilities, and offer a full range of services under one roof.

Patients who have appointments booked at Dorchester's Trinity Street sexual health clinic will instead be seen in Weymouth's sexual health clinic from Monday, September 30.

In the interim, anyone needing urgent advice or support should contact 0300 303 1948. Other clinics at Blandford, Bournemouth, Bridport, Christchurch, Poole and Wareham will continue to operate as normal.

Service manager Rebecca Jones, from Dorset HealthCare, said: “We apologise for any inconvenience over the next few weeks, and ask people to bear with us. This move will help us to provide a better, more comprehensive service for people in west Dorset.”

Sexual Health Dorset is an NHS service run in partnership by Dorset HealthCare, Dorset County Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals.

More information about the service and what it offers is available at https://sexualhealthdorset.org

Dorset HealthCare provides community health services covering physical and mental health across Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole.

Community health services include district nurses, health visitors, school nursing, end of life care, brain injury, sexual health promotion, safeguarding children, diabetes education, audiology, speech and language therapy, orthopaedic care, breastfeeding support and Dorset’s 12 community hospitals.