Reaching out to support better sexual health in our communities
Sexual health can be a sensitive subject for many people. So while NHFT's sexual health clinics around Northamptonshire do hugely important work to provide advice, education, vaccination, contraception, testing and treatment to those who need it, there will always be people who are more difficult to reach.
This is where the NHFT Sexual Health Outreach service comes in. They are a small team of just three Trust colleagues covering the whole of the county with support from a specialist HIV peer support worker. Together, their role is to take sexual health support out into the community, targeting young people, vulnerable groups and those who are less likely to engage with the service.
Lisa Knight-Smith leads the team of two NHFT Outreach Workers, Corinna and Alisha, covering West and North Northamptonshire respectively, while health and wellbeing charity Trade are funding specialist HIV Peer Support Worker Dan to work in partnership with the team.
Together they get out and about from their base in Northampton to connect with people up and down the county, providing advice and education about contraception and sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), testing for certain STIs and giving out free condoms.
In any given week, their busy schedule can take in a whole range of audiences - from college and university students, youth groups and community events through to targeted engagement with ethnic and cultural minority groups like Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and drop-in sessions with vulnerable groups like rough sleepers and sex workers.
Being responsive to opportunities and needs is at the heart of the team's work to break down barriers and reduce health inequalities, all driven by a shared passion for helping others and making a difference, together.
In their own words: the Sexual Health Outreach team
"The reason I work in sexual health outreach is because I've always wanted to make a difference. With this team we break down barriers, we make people feel that they matter and that their experience and their preferences matter - and all of it is underpinned with humour. That helps to tackle some really difficult issues and challenges misinformation as well, which I think is essential in sexual health."
Lisa Knight-Smith, Sexual Health Outreach Team Lead
"HIV peer support is so important to me because there was no peer support service available when I was diagnosed. I feel like speaking to somebody living with HIV helps to remove the stigma around HIV. It comes from a place of lived experience and I feel like it offers a different kind of support to what people are able to get from a clinical professional."
Dan Newton, HIV Peer Support Worker
"I absolutely love engaging with young people and being that person they can turn to with awkward or embarrassing questions when they may not have that support at home. I particularly enjoy working with special educational needs young people and those with English as a second language because they definitely fall off the radar sometimes. We're just so lucky to be in a position to reach so many more people than the clinics can."
Corinna Flynn, Outreach Worker, North Northamptonshire
"I do what I do because I have a genuine passion for caring for others. It's a part of who I am. I believe outreach is so important. I think a lot of people can fall through the net if they don't attend schools or colleges. So I believe it's very good to be able to empower people who otherwise might not get access to services."
Alisha Mcmullan, Outreach Worker, West Northamptonshire
Condom education video is a viral hit!
NHFT's Sexual Health Outreach team are finding fame on social media as an educational video about contraception tops 2.3 million views on YouTube.
The short film features Sexual Health Outreach Worker Corinna Flynn talking through how to safely put on and dispose of a condom after use. Since it was posted in September 2025 it has attracted an average of more than 350,000 views per month and has become one of the most watched contraception advice videos in the UK.
Free condoms are available for under-25s in Northamptonshire from the NHFT Sexual Health service web pages. Go to nhft.nhs.uk/sexual-health for more information or watch the video on YouTube .