Leigh Chislett is the charismatic man who has nurtured and guided Soho sexual health clinics 56 Dean Street and Dean Street Express into the London-wide success stories they are today. We found out more about his experiences behind these pioneering services at the heart of the LGBT community in London.
By Patrick Cash
On 56 Dean Street’s birth:
‘56 Dean Street was set up five and a half years ago. We were based in Victoria, where we’d outgrown our building, and we did outreach HIV testing in Soho for 4 hours a week – we diagnosed more people HIV positive in those four hours than during the whole week at the main clinic. We wanted to have a modern, stylish service that had convenient opening hours in the heart of the community.’
On the look of the Dean Street clinics:
‘Sexual health services were traditionally hidden away in basements or out buildings and were often very basic or run down. I think this added to a sense of guilt and shame. It was quite a challenge when setting the 56 DS service up to change people’s perceptions of what an NHS clinic should look like, but the initial reactions were amazing. The very first patient who came in said ‘Oh my God, it looks like a Soho boutique hotel’. With Dean Street Express we got more courageous and said to the designer to forget any idea of how you think a clinic should look.’
On some of his proudest moments:
‘When we moved in we saw around 1,500 patients a month, we now see between 8-9,000 a month, the majority of which are LGBT. We diagnose around 1 in 6 of all gay men in the UK with HIV, and I’m proud that we’ve managed to get so many into early HIV care/treatment. At the World AIDS Day HIV Testing events at G-A-Y we have, to date, tested over 2,000 people and challenged perceptions of where people are prepared to get a test. I am also proud of our involvement CliniQ, the first sexual health service for Trans people.’
On Dean Street Express:
‘Dean Street Express is a walk in self check-in/screening service for people with no symptoms. More than half of people with a sexually transmitted infection will have no symptoms. As well as being able to get your HIV result in 60 seconds, all your other test results will be text to you in six hours and you can get treatment the same day: this could have a significant impact on onward transmission of STIs. 50% of HIV is caught from someone who has been recently infected, so if you catch HIV early you can break the chain of infection.’
On the greatest challenges to gay men’s sexual health in London right now:
‘What has struck me is how many people we are seeing where drugs such as G and crystal meth have become out of control, and are having a real negative effect on their lives. I see a lot a gay men in my job and it seems to me a significant number of them are experiencing aspects of the gay scene as dehumanizing and isolating. I have seen so many people who have tested HIV positive, who said that they were off their face on drugs or felt crap about themselves.’
On appointing chemsex expert David Stuart as lead drugs advisor at 56 Dean Street:
‘David very early on saw the relationship between chems and transmission of HIV, Hepatitis B/C and other STIs. I believe he had over 200 referrals in the first six weeks he was appointed. He really has lead the way on issues around chemsex and wellbeing for gay men. He was a great appointment.’
On what’s next for 56 Dean Street:
‘I want to continue to promote and encourage regular HIV and STI screening and be a holistic service that also offers counselling and support, and a wide range of sexual health related services. I think the rapid turnaround for results is essential for looking forward and breaking chains of onward transmission.
I would like to continue for 56 Dean Street to be a community resource, with LGBT groups using our boardroom, supporting events like ‘Let’s Talk About Gay Sex And Drugs’ and our wellbeing series. I think the NHS, for all its problems, is amazing and I want to prove how exceptional it can be.’
• 56 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 6AQ.
• Dean Street Express, 35 Dean Street, W13 6AQ.
