The consequences of poor sexual health can be serious. Unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can have a long lasting impact on people's lives. The number of visits to genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics has doubled over the last decade and now stands at over a million a year. There is a clear relationship between sexual ill-health, poverty and social exclusion.
Significant rates of teenage conception occur in both Kent and Medway and the UK has the highest rate of teenage conceptions in Europe. It is important that surveillance and monitoring of sexual health indicators takes place. There has been a significant increase in Chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases, particularly in the younger population.
