Hackney Council is set to close its Leadenhall Street sexual health clinic in the City of London by the end of November 2025, citing declining attendance and high operational costs.
The decision, briefed to the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission on Wednesday 10 September 2025, follows a review by Homerton Healthcare, which operates the clinic, of service usage, cost-effectiveness, and changing patient access patterns. The decline in in-person attendance at the Leadenhall Street clinic is largely attributed to a shift towards online sexual health services via www.shl.uk and a decrease in the number of City workers accessing in-person services, attributed to the rise in home and flexible working arrangements.
Chris Lovitt, Deputy Director of Public Health - City and Hackney, Froeks Kamminga, Senior Public Health Specialist - City and Hackney, and Dr Lizzie Williams, Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV, Homerton Sexual Health Services, Homerton Healthcare, presented the report to the commission.
The Leadenhall Street clinic, located at 80 Leadenhall St, opened in April 2018 as a satellite of the main Homerton Hospital sexual health services. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, it served between 17,000 and 19,000 patients annually. However, since the pandemic, attendance has dropped to between 6,000 and 8,500 patients per year.
The clinic primarily offers sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and treatment, rather than a full range of complex sexual health services. The commission heard that there has been low uptake of services such as Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) fittings and removals, indicating that the site is no longer fulfilling its intended function as a comprehensive Level 2-3 service.
Furthermore, the site incurs high operational costs, with lease and service charges amounting to approximately £350,000 per year.
Patient demographic data indicates that only 4% of attendees are City of London residents. To ensure continuity of care for this population, the council plans to work with Homerton Healthcare to establish an alternative site. Discussions are underway with the Neaman Practice to develop a primary care-based service, with operations potentially starting in September 2025.
For City workers who previously used the Leadenhall site, the council will undertake a communications campaign to ensure they are aware of alternative choices available to them. These include:
- Going online to shl.uk
- Attending another clinic operated by the Homerton including The Ivy Centre or Clifden Centre
- Attending another nearby sexual health clinic such as The Ambrose King Centre at the Royal London Hospital, Burrell Street located in Southwark or Dean Street located in Soho.
The closure will not result in any staff redundancies, with all staff continuing to work in sexual health at other Homerton Healthcare sites.