Home testing is available across Scotland, though the platform you use depends entirely on which of the 14 Health Boards you live in. Unlike Wales, Scotland does not have a single unified postal testing platform.
The model is the same throughout: complete an online questionnaire, receive a plain-packaged kit by post, swab at home, post back, and get results by text message.
Home kits are for asymptomatic screening only. If you have active symptoms — discharge, a rash, penile or anal pain — go to a clinic in person. Do not order a kit.
📍 Where to Order Your Kit
Glasgow & Clyde
Sandyford operates its own home testing service. Go directly to sandyford.scot to order your kit.
Edinburgh & Lothian
Chalmers uses a direct portal. Go to lothiansexualhealth.scot to order your kit.
Rest of Scotland
Other Health Boards may use SH:24 or a board-specific system. The easiest way to find out what covers your postcode is to:
- Enter your postcode at sh24.org.uk to check if they hold the contract for your area.
- If they do not, check your specific local NHS Health Board's website.
🩸 What the Kit Tests For
Most Scottish home testing platforms cover HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea.
When ordering, ensure you identify as a man who has sex with men. The questionnaire should offer you a three-site gonorrhoea and chlamydia panel:
- Throat swab
- Rectal swab
- Urine sample
Take all three swabs. A urine test alone misses most infections in gay and bisexual men, who frequently carry asymptomatic infections in the throat or rectum.
📦 How to Use the Kit
You will receive a discreet box in the mail including instructions and return postage.
The blood collection (for HIV and syphilis) uses a finger-prick lancet. Squeezing thick drops of blood into a tiny tube can be frustrating.
How to succeed at the finger-prick test:
- Hydrate: Drink two massive glasses of water 30 minutes before you start. Thick blood won't flow.
- Heat: Do 20 jumping jacks to get your heart rate up, then wash your hands in hot water for 3 minutes. Your veins need to be warm and dilated.
- Gravity: Stand up to do the test. Keep your hand pointing down, below your heart level.
- The Pierce: Use the side of your ring finger, not the sensitive center pad. Press the lancet firmly into the skin before clicking the release button.
📲 Results and Treatment
If your results are all clear, you will receive a text message within a few days.
If you test positive, you will be contacted directly and fast-tracked to your local Health Board sexual health clinic for treatment (often an injection for gonorrhoea or syphilis) or specialist care.
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