SSHA NPC has drawn up a plan designed to keep the sexual health advising professional agenda current and relevant over the coming 3 years.

The plan involves focusing on a range of professional issues including: continuing professional development; using the website both to share good practice and get members’ views and opinions; consolidating links with partner organisations; supporting research and audit into health advising related issues and setting standards in competencies.

Progress on the plan will be communicated to members via the SSHA website.

Continuing professional development: study days

The NPC plans to build on the success of the MI study days by developing study days on further topics including ‘Partner Notification’ and ‘Professional and Ethical issues in Sexual Health Advising’.

Website

Members are invited to email the website coordinator with ideas for future uses for the website, for example, a section on ‘Sharing Good Practice’.

Supervision

The NPC plans to post a questionnaire on clinical supervision on the website to audit both the level of current provision and members’ views on supervision.

Guidelines and the Manual for Sexual Health Advisers

The manual will be retained on the website as an historical document and SSHA will develop guidelines working with partner organisations such as BASHH.

Setting standards: Sharing good practice

The NPC would like to hear of any examples of good practice in sexual health advising (such as protocols and proformas, standards, audit, service development, presentations).   Members are requested to email the website coordinator with contributions for review by members of the NPC (see above).

Links with partner organisations  

The NPC aims to provide regular updates from sexual health advising colleagues representing the profession on allied professional bodies.

Research and audit

The NPC will encourage and support research and audit into sexual health advising related issues to build on the existing body of knowledge.

Conference and study days

The NPC values feedback on sexual health advisers’ professional needs so will evaluate Conference and study days to ensure that their content reflects the educational requirements of the profession.

Professional development

SSHA remains committed the goal of regulation and will continue to work with the Department of Health other key stakeholders to develop sexual health advisers’ roles, training and education.

Competencies

The NPC has started work on draft competencies for sexual health advising which will go out to sexual health advisers for consultation.  The NPC will then consider how competencies can be taken forward nationally.

SSHA 3 YEAR PLAN PROGRESS REPORT