Coming to our walk in and wait clinic means we will try to give you STI testing and treatment at the time of your visit, when you need it most.

Reasons to walk in and wait

Walk in and wait if you have (or need):

  • genital symptoms
  • been asked to come back to the Centre for treatment or vaccination
  • recently had sex with a person who was diagnosed with an STI
  • been referred by your doctor
  • recently been sexually assaulted
  • PEP

When you come to the Centre

Walk in during opening hours and wait to see a nurse or doctor for testing, examination, diagnosis, results and treatment.

We encourage you to come in early in the day. You should allow at least two hours for your visit to be complete. If you come in after 3.00pm we may not be able to see you on that day and may ask you to come back another day.

You need to speak to the triage nurse to find out what service we can offer you on the day.

Clients who come in between 12.30pm - 1.30pm are triaged to the afternoon session.

What does the triage nurse do?

The nurse assesses your situation, and if Melbourne Sexual Health Centre is the right place to help you. Sometimes we may ask you to come back another day, or go to another health service, depending on your situation, and the demands on the service that day.
If we can help you, the nurse will advise you to wait outside until a doctor or nurse call you from the waiting room. A digital display board gives an approximate wait time.

What's involved

Once you are in the clinic room, the doctor or nurse will:

  • talk to you about your sexual health concerns
  • ask some personal questions about your sexual health risks and general health
  • do an examination (if needed)
  • talk to you about testing and treatment

Examination & testing

An examination is when the doctor or nurse looks at your genitals. The doctor or nurse may need to do an examination to work out if you have any infections.

Before they start, the doctor or nurse will talk to you about the examination. You can choose what happens during the examination. The doctor or nurse will then ask you to undress from the waist down.

Examination and testing sometimes causes a small amount of discomfort.

Results

Most results take up to one week. Sometimes some test results are available within 30 - 60 minutes.

  • If you provided consent, we will SMS your negative HIV result within seven days. If your HIV result is either positive or inconclusive, we will call you and ask you to come in to the clinic to talk about your result.
  • If your test results show that you have an infection, we will always contact you to tell you and talk to you about treatment.
  • We will not contact you if you don't have any infections

Please wait 7 days following your visit to contact us if you want to check on your results.

Treatment

If your test results are ready on the day of your visit, we may give you an injection or medication to take.

We may offer you a vaccination. A vaccination is an injection which protects you from getting an infection in the future.

If your test results show any infection and you have already left the clinic, we will call you and ask you to come back to get the right treatment. Treatment might be medication or an injection.