![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_SGP_NEC_170725GV01JPG.jpg\")
Ravensworth Terrace in Newcastle’s Summerhill Conservation Area, where the city’s sexual health clinic has moved to(Image: Simon Greener\/Newcastle Chronicle)<\/p>\nNewcastle City Council has agreed a ‘mutual termination’ of a private company’s contract to run the city’s sexual health serviceRavensworth Terrace in Newcastle’s Summerhill Conservation Area, where the city’s sexual health clinic has moved to(Image: Simon Greener\/Newcastle Chronicle)<\/p>\n
A private firm\u2019s contract to run Newcastle\u2019s sexual health clinic is set to be ripped up. Newcastle City Council<\/a> has confirmed that it has agreed a \u201cmutual termination\u201d of Solutions 4 Health\u2019s (S4H) provision of the city\u2019s sexual health service, just two years after it was controversially taken out <\/a>of NHS<\/a> hands.<\/p>\n There were serious concerns from healthcare campaigners when S4H took over clinical sexual health services in Newcastle in October 2023, with the provision having been NHS-run for the previous 70 years, while furious staff at the clinic warned that the move risked a rise in unintended pregnancies <\/a>and leaving more sexually transmitted infections untreated. Council bosses admitted this summer that the service \u201cshould and could be better\u201d<\/a>, saying in July that it was looking at \u201cways to strengthen the service and ensure it continues to meet local needs\u201d \u2013 including moving to a new base in the Summerhill conservation area, which opened in September.<\/p>\n But it has now been confirmed that S4H\u2019s contract will be terminated, with the service expected to transfer to an as yet unnamed provider on January 31, 2026. Alice Wiseman, the city\u2019s director of public health, told councillors on Thursday: \u201cWe wish to reassure you that the council, S4H and the new provider (once identified), will endeavour to minimise any disruption to patients and staff as the service and staff transfer to the new provider.<\/p>\n \u201cSexual health services are obviously a sensitive topic and by making this change we hope to ensure that people in Newcastle continue to receive the essential care they need. In the meantime, the service will continue as usual. We thank you for your understanding and patience.\u201d<\/p>\n The sexual health clinic was based at the New Croft Centre in Newcastle city centre<\/a> at the time of the 2023 handover and subsequently relocated to nearby Hadrian House. It has now moved into a former synagogue in Summerhill\u2019s Ravensworth Terrace, which has sparked concerns among neighbours about a lack of parking and public transport links <\/a>around the Georgian neighbourhood\u2019s cobbled streets.<\/p>\n Lib Dem councillor Wendy Taylor, chair of the council\u2019s health scrutiny committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: \u201cIt\u2019s vital that the council offers a high quality, accessible service for everyone needing sexual health support. If the current service isn\u2019t providing what is needed, it is best for all the staff and patients if the contract is ended and a new provider sought. We will want to investigate further what went wrong once the full information is available.\u201d<\/p>\n It is understood that S4H was the only bidder in the 2023 tender process for clinical services. The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust said at the time that it had been \u201cunable to submit a sustainable bid\u201d and was \u201cdisappointed to not be providing these services into the future\u201d.<\/p>\n The city council confirmed that online sexual health services will continue to be provided by Preventx, a separate company who also won a contract in 2023.<\/p>\n The LDRS has attempted to contact S4H for a response. Its website states that it \u201cwill continue to deliver gold-standard sexual health services\u201d and is a \u201ctrusted provider of NHS services\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newcastle City Council has agreed a ‘mutual termination’ of a private company’s contract to run the city’s sexual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,32627,7121,104,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-207134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-newcastle-city-council","11":"tag-newcastle-upon-tyne","12":"tag-nhs","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}