Here, you will find essential information about vaccinations, guidance on registering with a local medical practice, and how to access sexual health services - including information on STI testing, contraception and guidance on self-sampling kits.
Vaccinations
During your time at university, it’s important to make sure you are up to date with your vaccinations. Please consult your doctor to ensure you’ve had the vaccines below, and if you haven’t, try to arrange to have them as soon as you can.
The MenACWYvaccine protects against four different causes of Meningitis and Septicaemia: meningococcal (Men) A, C, W and Y diseases. In the UK, it's offered to teenagers in school but can be given up to the age of 25 if it's been missed.
Meningitis can spread very quickly in places like universities and colleges due to moving to a new place, mixing and/or being in close contact with other people.
If you need the vaccine and for any reason have not had this before you arrive or return to Warwick, speak with your local GP (doctor) or the Health Centre to arrange this. You should have the vaccine as soon as possible to minimise your risk of infection.
If you're an international student, ask your doctor for the vaccine - depending on what's available under your local health service, you may be able to have the vaccine in your home country before you depart for the UK.
The MMR vaccine is part of the routine NHS childhood immunisation schedule. This means most young people who've grown up in England will have had 2 doses of it in childhood and gives you long-term protection against the conditions. If you're not sure you've had two doses of the MMR vaccination, ask a GP for a catch-up vaccination.
The Flu vaccine aims to protect you against the most common types of flu viruses. There's still a chance you might get flu after getting vaccinated, but it's likely to be milder and not last as long.
Protection from the flu vaccine goes down with time and the types of flu virus the vaccine protects against are updated each year. This is why it's important to get the flu vaccine every year.
It's offered on the NHS every year in autumn or early winter to all adults. If you are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from Flu (if you have certain long-term health conditions, are pregnant, are a carer, or live with a weakened immune system) you will be eligible for a free vaccination.
By having the HPV vaccination, you are protecting yourself and others. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by the Human Papillomavirus virus group (HPV), as well as some mouth and throat cancers and some cancers of the anus and genital areas.
The HPV vaccination is available to women up to the age of 25, and to eligible gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men up until the age of 45 years old.
Since the vaccine has been used, there has been a big drop in the number of young people getting conditions linked to HPV, such as cervical cancer and genital warts. Research suggests that over time the HPV vaccine will help save thousands of lives in the UK.
Registering with a local medical practice
It is important to register with a local medical practice so that you can access healthcare easily whilst you’re at Warwick.
If you are living on campus, within the catchment area, or in Kenilworth or Leamington, you’ll be able to register with our campus based National Health Service (NHS) Health Centre.Link opens in a new window New students can register with the Health Centre via the Enrolment Dashboard
Find open access sexual health services near you including health clinics, and free STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing and treatments, as well as emergency contraception, free condoms, pregnancy testing, sexual health advice and referrals for pregnancy advisory service and abortion.
STIs
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common and can be passed on during sex or through sexual contact.
Different STIs will have different symptoms and how soon symptoms appear depends on the type of STI you have. They can usually be treated at a sexual health clinic. But a lot of people won’t experience any symptoms which is why regular testing is so important.
The best way to protect yourself and your partner is by using condoms – remember to use them consistently and correctly when having sex with a new or casual partner.
A particular type of antibiotic-resistant strain is more common in the Asia-Pacific and there has recently been an increase in cases of this strain in UK students from the Asia-Pacific. If you have recently travelled to the UK from here and have STI symptoms, get an STI test. Even if you don’t have STI symptoms.
If you’re having sex with new or casual partners, regular STI testing is essential for your overall health and wellbeing.
Everyone having sex without a condom with new or casual partners should get an STI screen, including a HIV test, at least annually.
Sexually active women & those with a uterus or ovaries and aged under 25 should screen for chlamydia each year or when they change partners.
Gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men should test for STIs and HIV every 3 months if having sex without a condom with new or casual partners.
Many sexual health services in England now offer free STI self-sampling kits for people who aren’t showing any symptoms or signs of an STI and would prefer a routine check-up in the comfort and privacy of their own home.
These self-sampling kits can be used to test for the most common STIs, including Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea, as well as for other STIs such as Syphilis and HIV.
The self-sampling kit will arrive in the post in a plain unmarked envelope or letterbox-friendly box and will have everything you need to take the samples, and a freepost return label to send them back.
You take samples yourself and then send them to a laboratory to be tested and get your results back in a few days.
