partner notification standards

(published in ‘The Clinical Management of Gonorrhoea’. Central Audit Group in Genitourinary medicine. 1996.)

The standards agreed are listed below. The workshop drew on the document ‘SHASTD Partner Notification Guidelines’ ratified at SHASTD's Annual General Meeting in 1995.

 1) Each clinic should have an adequate provision of health adviser time.

2) The health advisers should have soundproof rooms for interviewing patients, and sufficient administrative support.

3) All patients diagnosed with gonorrhoea should have partner notification raised with them at the time of treatment.

4) All patients diagnosed with gonorrhoea should be referred to a health adviser at the time of treatment.

5) Failure or refusal to see a health adviser should be documented. Partner notification should then be undertaken by a doctor.

6) A full sexual history of the index patient needs to be obtained for the relevant period including types of contact and condom use.

7) There should be a protocol for the work of health advisers. This will have been negotiated between the health adviser and doctor.

8) Each clinic should have a protocol for recalling patients with an untreated infection.

9) There should be a documented discussion on the action taken (and the implications of this) for each sexual contact eg whether there is patient referral, provider referral, contract referral, or no referral.

10) Partner notification should be followed up and documented at subsequent visits.

11) Documentation should be accurate and complete.

12) The use of contact slips should be encouraged. When handed in by a patient, they should be returned to the issuing clinic.