Lewisham Council is set to procure new sexual health services, both in primary care and online, following a decision made at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting on 22 October 2025.

The decision encompasses two key areas: the Authority to Procure & Award Sexual Health Services in Primary Care1 and the re-procurement of online sexual and reproductive health services, also known as the E-Service2.

Councillor Paul Bell, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, addressed the importance of contraceptive services during the meeting. He highlighted the necessity of providing these services to enable people to make informed choices about their health.

It's really important that we provide contraceptive services for people to choose, and this will hopefully increase the take-up and the availability within the GPs, said Councillor Bell.

The council is also participating in the multi-authority procurement service for online sexual health and reproductive health, led by the City of London. This initiative aims to extend the current contract with Preventics for 12 months, up to March 2027.

Councillor Bell emphasised the significance of continuing the e-service, noting that Lewisham and neighboring boroughs face some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV in England. The e-service allows residents to order sampling kits for STIs and HIV, receive remote treatment for uncomplicated infections, and access professional health advice online.

Lucian and neighboring boroughs face some of the highest rates of SDIs and HIV in England with a number of our residents. So it's really important that we continue in the service, Councillor Bell stated.

Future plans for the new contract, expected to start in August 2026 and run for up to nine years, aim to further improve access, efficiency, and health outcomes. The council aims to address current limitations of the service, such as difficulties in self-blood sampling. Councillor Bell acknowledged the challenges some users face with the self-blood sampling process, stating, Now I've used the service myself and I know it's difficult to get blood out of your finger. It took me 43 minutes. I timed it exactly when I used it before. So this is something that is being looked at, but obviously there are limitations when you're taking blood yourself.

  1. More information on the Authority to Procure & Award Sexual Health Services in Primary Care can be found in this report. ↩

  2. More information on the re-procurement of online sexual and reproductive health services can be found in this report. ↩