Jersey has appointed its first full-time consultant in Sexual Health, HIV and Viral Hepatitis.
Dr Rajesh Hembrom (pictured), has taken up the dedicated role of Service Lead and Consultant for the Sexual Health Team. Dr Hembrom, who has 16 years’ experience within sexual health and blood-borne viruses, moves from Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust where he clinically-led the setup of a fully integrated sexual health clinic at 4 Clover Street, Medway, Kent.
During his career, Dr Hembrom has contributed to improving patient care through delivering education, training and research and has been in the roles of Clinical Director, Deputy Director of Medical Education and the Lead Appraiser (Deputy Responsible Officer) in the NHS.
His appointment comes after the GUM Clinic, based in the Outpatients Department of Jersey General Hospital, began running ‘same-day’ free appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, at the end of last year. Prior to implementing same-day appointments, Islanders without symptoms would have a four to five week wait for an appointment. Now, generally, people are reviewed within a week, if they are without symptoms and would like an STI screening.
Dr Hembrom, the former chair of the South-East of England branch of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), said: “I’m really excited to be joining and leading Jersey’s sexual health team and I’m looking forward to helping to develop Jersey’s own integrated sexual health service to ensure very high standards of care.”
Dr Adrian Noon, Chief of Service for Medicine, said: “The sexual health team is only small but provides an excellent service to Islanders. I’m delighted that Dr Hembrom has joined the team and is leading the service to see where improvements can be made. This new role shows that we are committed to continuing to developing this responsive and agile service, which supports Islanders at a time when they may feel most worried.”
