The Hathersage Centre

I cannot agree more with the glowing reviews the Hathersage Centre has already got, but I would like to add one point: the staff here are simply lovely! I was actually there earlier today getting my contraceptive needs seen to (OK, I know I said I lvoed the one in Withington, but I’m very busy and important and can’t drop everything just to go to Withington and get a needle in my bum) Anyway, the staff here are great; they’re all friendly, kindly middle aged women who’ve seen and heard it all. So it’s a great place to discuss any issues relating to your sexual health. A few of them, having spent years doing this sort of job, have got some pretty hilarious stories too.
The centre is split into sexual health and family planning, with one mixed waiting area where you fill out your form, before being called through to a separate waiting area depending on what service you require. Funny story, today I was waiting with my family planning form, and a man next to me was having trouble filling in his sexual health form. He tapped me on the shoulder and asked «what does this mean?» before pointing to the question «Do you have any symptoms?» with a check-​box. I went a very unseemly shade of purply red and squeaked «I think you might want to talk to the staff about your, erm, symptoms, I, erm… really…I don’t…» Yes, I am a ridiculous prude, but I was brought up not to say ‘discharge’ ‘warts’ or ‘burns-​when-​you-​pee’ to strangers.
Anyway, comedic encoutners aside, the Hathersage Centre has it all when it comes to sexual health or family planning. Even if you’re getting a long-​term contraceptive (pill, IUD, implant, injection, you name it) you will be asked on average 3 times if you require condoms, and you will always be offered a RUclear chlamydia/​gonorreah test, even if you haven’t changed partners. They also offer the Levonelle morning-​after pill, and are probably going to be offering Ellaone (the one that works 5 days after, instead of the usual 3) in the very near future. All services are free of charge.
When I was a teenager, living in a tiny town where everyone knew if you so much as farted, contraception was something you’d take a 40 minute bus ride to buy from a Boots in a different town, and a friend of mine was grounded for three weeks after ‘someone’ told her mum she’d gone to get the morning-​after pill from her GP, and there was nobody you could just talk to about concerns. So, as you can imagine, places like the Hathersage seem too good to be true for me! It’s great to see centres like this providing such a great service, and long may it continue.

The Hathersage Centre is a place of happiness, if you pass your STI test, and a place of woe, if you don’t.
More reasonably though, you can’t really give a bad review to an STI clinic unless its done something wrong, in which case you should probably be seeing a higher authority than Unilocal.
Basically though, it’s a very clean and smart new waiting room and health centre, but queues are relatively long as it’s the only place offering the service in the immediate area. Still, if you want to get checked its just got to be done hasn’t it.
The practical information: Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12.30 and 2.30pm are the walk-​in sessions. So if you can’t ring ahead go to one of these. Please note that on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 3.30 and 6.30pm, it is only open to under 25s. All the other opening times are for everyone.
The specific under-​25s thing is run by Fresh Manchester, who have a separate website at
, so check this if it concerns you. They operate at four locations around Manchester so there may be a closer /​faster place you can visit.

The Hathersage Centre is *the* place to go for any issue relating to sexual health. The only things you need to book in advance for are the HIV clinics. For everything else you simply drop in, write down your name and date of birth for the receptionist and wait your turn in the queue.
The centre is modern — in fact it’s brand spanking new — and the staff are friendly and professional. They will give confidential advice (which won’t be passed to your doctor or anybody else without your consent), free contraception including condoms, the pill, injections, the IUD and emergency contraception, test for STIs and give information about abortions.
On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays they run clinic especially for under 25s — check the website for times.