A GLASGOW-led team of sexual health experts is behind a £2.5 million digital revolution in the NHS in the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Claudia Estcourt, a professor of HIV and Sexual Health at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will lead the five-year project to develop a new digital NHS platform to improve care for people with STIs.

As principal investigator, she has been awarded a £2.5m grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programme for applied research to lead the project.

She is joined by a co-investigator team from various establishments, including University College London, Strathclyde and Birmingham universities, Barts Health NHS Trust, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, where the programme will be hosted.

People who test positive for chlamydia through home testing will be given confidential access to a previously developed eSexual Health Clinic (eSHC) app. The eSexual Health Clinic contains a unique NHS online automated clinical consultation and electronic prescribing algorithm.

Patients will receive an electronic prescription to their phone so they can go to their local pharmacy to collect antibiotics or have them sent to their home.

Health Protection Scotland figures show that last year genital chlamydia remained the most frequently diagnosed STI in Scotland, with 17,336 people diagnosed. A further 3776 were reported to have gonorrhoea.

Estcourt said STIs are on the rise with half a million people in the UK diagnosed each year, they have a huge impact on people’s lives and are very costly for the NHS.

She said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this grant from NIHR.

“The programme is particularly timely as NHS services adapt to a post-COVID world of increased remote and self-managed care. Sexual health funding has been cut and online STI testing (self-sampling) is replacing face-to-face care.”

Estcourt continued: “This could help many people, but others might find it difficult to use, particularly people at greater risk of STIs.

“We need to understand what hinders and helps people to engage with a range of options for testing, treating and preventing STIs, within inclusive, good value for money services.”