Health Minister Praise For Life-Saving Rbh

The Health Minister praised Royal Berkshire Hospital for potentially saving 13,000 women’s lives a year when he opened its sexual health and breast-screening clinic.

Secretary of State for Health The Rt Hon Alan Johnson praised the hard work of staff and said it was a monumental achievement for Reading to get 82 per cent of its female population to go for breast screening.

The number of people going through the doors into the sexual health clinic every week has doubled since it moved to Craven Road.

Mr Johnson said: “The centre is very friendly and welcoming and the staff are attentive.

This makes a huge difference to people coming into the unit, and it is thorough in its work.

“People are very lucky to have this kind of service so we want even more people to come along and get tested or screened.

“Patients can now be seen within 48 hours and the walk-in service at the sexual health clinic means that it is convenient for an even wider range of people.

“We are living in a society where people live longer and there have been huge advances in medical science, the death rate from breast cancer in particular has dramatically decreased from 50 per cent to 80 per cent as a result of effective screening and early treatment.

“The centre has been the result of a ￡2.5 million investment and has transformed the sexual health facilities from a hidden away portacabin was built in 1966, to this spectacular bright and airy space on the main road so people are aware of its existence.

“I think there can be a complacency about sexual health, especially among young people, but with a clinic like this, people are more open to the idea of getting help and advice against sexually transmitted infections.

“There has been a rise in infections like gonorrhoea and HIV and it is so important for facilities, like this one to exist.”

Alan Tang, consultant physician for contraceptive services at the hospital, said the centre had been a huge asset to the hospital and that since it moved it has increased the number of people seen in a week from 220 to 390.