You don't have to be referred to an STI clinic by your doctor, and you don't have to go to the one nearest your home. You can go wherever you want. If you have this choice – and it may be difficult to go anywhere else than your nearest hospital – there are several things you should look out for:

• Which clinic provides the quickest result?
• Does the clinic have its own health advisers or HIV counsellors?
• Does the clinic also have an HIV clinic, indicating that it has experience in treating people with HIV?

Usually when you go to an STI clinic for an HIV test you will be asked to register if you haven't already done so – the clinic will take your name and address. This information is confidential. The doctor will want to ask you questions about your sexual activities. This is also entirely confidential. The doctor should suggest that you have a check–up for other sexually transmitted infections; if you have had unprotected sex there is probably more chance that you have picked up one of the very common sexually transmitted diseases than there is of HIV infection, and these are easily treatable in most cases.

There is a more detailed discussion of STI clinics in Safer sex: sexually transmitted infections and sexual health.