Nurses lack contraception training

UK nurses are providing insufficient advice on sexual health and contraception because they are inadequately trained, a new report has warned.

According to a study by condom manufacturer Durex, 68 per cent of practice nurses admit that they do not proactively ask patients about their sexual health or use of contraception because of their lack of training.

However, patients frequently ask them for advice, with 99 per cent of nurses reporting that they are asked about chlamydia.

The vast majority of nurses said that more training should be made available and Tina Bishop, a member of the Royal College of Nursing practice nurse steering committee, said that nurses should play a key role in delivering advice on sexual health and contraception.

"But this survey appears to show that they are not receiving the vital training that is necessary to ask a patient about their sexual health," she conceded.

The survey coincides with National Condom Week, which is supported by several of the UK's sexual health charities.

The week is sponsored by Durex, which is making ten training bursaries available to practice nurses to boost provision of sexual health advice.
 
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