Safe sex advice on offer at Summerites Pride in the Park gig

Music lovers will be offered sexual health advice at today’s Pride in the Park Summerites festival in Shoreditch.

Barts Health and The Homerton Hospital’s sexual health teams are linking up to offer revellers at the London Gay Pride Week gig one-to-one private consultations about any concerns they may have, and staff will also be handing out free contraceptives as well as HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing.

The move follows concern over a growing number of young adults becoming infected with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) each year - many of whom are asymptomatic, with a large proportion of cases remaining undetected.

If untreated chlamydia infection can cause serious reproductive health problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease in women, and gonorrhoea may also cause no symptoms, but still lead to serious ongoing health problems if not diagnosed and treated.

Barts Health sexual health consultant, Vanessa Apea said: “It is important that we get the information out - that the best way to prevent catching any STI is to practise safer sex by using a condom.

Summerites, Pride in the Park takes place in Shoreditch Park today from 1pm to 10pm.