Clinics should offer advice on preventing sex infections

The Department of Health guidelines are designed to tell patients what services they can expect from clinics.

They outline 10 standards for care including improved access to sexual health services and contraceptive advice and provision.

But the Royal College of Nursing said there were too few staff to deliver the new standards.

'Prompt access'

The guidance also says there should be measures to improve detection of sexual health needs, including chlamydia screening.

Currently the network of sexual health services in England is somewhat confused and jumbled Toni Belfield, Family Planning Association

The guidelines were developed by the Medical Foundation for Aids and Sexual Health (Medfash) for the department.

Ruth Lowbury, Executive Director of Medfash, said: "The standards have been developed with the aim of enabling people to have prompt and convenient access to consistent, equitable and high quality sexual health care, wherever they live."

Public Health Minister Melanie Johnson said: "The Department of Health welcomes these recommended standards as excellent markers of good practice - which will help to improve the quality of sexual health services across the country.

"We recently announced an extra �300m in our Public Health White Paper to transform sexual services and I hope that these new, clearer recommended standards will offer healthcare professionals at all levels invaluable information to meet government targets as well as enhancing the quality of services in all settings."

The Family Planning Association said the standards were "extremely good news".

Toni Belfield, the FPA's director of information, said: "Currently the network of sexual health services in England is somewhat confused and jumbled."

Ms Belfield added: "If we are to improve sexual health and well-being, it is vital that people know about services, what to expect from them and how they can be accessed.

"Historically sexual health has been a much-neglected service.

"For the first time, these standards provide a way forward to improve the quality of sexual health services and practice, so we would expect a noticeable improvement in the care that people receive."

But Kathy French, a sexual health adviser with the Royal College of Nursing, who was a member of the group which compiled the guidance, warned: "There is a desperate shortage of both nurses and doctors working in sexual health.