Chlamydial partner notification in the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) 2011 UK national audit against the BASHH Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health Sexually Transmitted Infections Management Standards

Abstract

This paper reports on chlamydial partner notification (PN) performance in the 2011 BASHH national audit against the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Medical Foundation for AIDS Sexual Health (MedFASH) Sexually Transmitted Infection Management Standards (STIMS). There was wide regional variation in level 3 clinic PN performance against the current standard of index case-reported chlamydial PN, with 43% (regional range 0–80%) of clinics outside London meeting the ≥0.6 contacts seen per index standard, and 85% of clinics (regional range 82–88%) in London meeting the ≥0.4 standard. For level 2 clinics, 39% (regional range 0–100%) of clinics outside London met the ≥0.6 standard, and 43% (regional range 40–50%) of clinics in London met the ≥0.4 standard. Performance for health-care worker (HCW)-verified contact attendance is also reported. New standards for each of these performance measures are proposed for all level 3 clinics: ≥0.6 contacts seen per index case based on index case report, and ≥0.4 contacts seen per index case based on HCW verification, both within four weeks of the first partner notification interview. The results are discussed with regard to the importance of adoption of standards by commissioners of services, relevance to national quality agendas, and the need for development of a national system of PN quality assurance measurement and reporting.