A NEW clinic giving young people advice, support and treatment on sexual health and contraception is set to open in Darlington.

The contraception and sexual health clinic (CASH) will run its first session at Park Place Health Centre on Friday between 3.30pm and 4.30pm, with subsequent weekly sessions at the same time.

The clinic, which is being run by Dalrington Primary Care Trust, aims to give young people to access advice, support and treatment to help promote a healthy mind and well-being in terms of their sexual health.

Services provided by the nurse-led clinic include contraception, sexual health screening, pregnancy testing and information on safe sex.

According to the Government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, easier access to sexual health services is a key factor in reducing teenage conceptions.

Research shows between one in four and one in three people have had sex by the time they are 16 and sexually transmitted infection rates are highest among young people.

A spokeswoman for the clinic said its aim was to provide a service to improve early intervention for teenage sexual health decision making, with a strong emphasis on helping delay the onset and continuation of early sexual activity.

This will include supporting teenagers to make choices about sex, to help them decide when they are ready, give them the skills to say no, give balanced messages with accurate information and the skills to negotiate sex when they choose to take this step and ongoing support.

Helen Pleydell, CASH Specialist Nurse and Area Team Lead for NHS Darlington, said: "Improving access to advice and support on relationships, contraception and sexual health is key to helping young people make healthy and positive choices.

“It is our aim to have a young person friendly clinic, where teenagers feel able to come for advice and help.”