The Genitourinary (GU) Clinic at Mater Dei Hospital is Malta's national hub for sexual health. It is a highly centralised, efficient service providing free testing and treatment.

📍 Location and Hours

  • Location: 2nd Floor, Outpatients Department, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida.
  • Standard Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:00 am – 4:00 pm.
  • Best Time to Attend: It is highly recommended to call or attend the clinic before 1:00 pm.

📅 Booking and Walk-ins

You do not need a doctor's referral to visit the clinic.

  • To book an appointment: Call +356 2545 7491 or +356 2545 7494. Note that you may reach an answering machine operated by healthcare professionals; you can confidently leave your name and contact number for a callback.
  • Symptoms: If you have active symptoms of an STI, you can often walk in without an appointment.
  • Rapid HIV Testing: Rapid HIV tests do not require an appointment, though calling ahead is recommended to ensure smooth processing.

🩸 What is Tested

A comprehensive sexual health check for men who have sex with men involves two distinct types of testing. You should confirm with the staff that you are receiving both:

  1. Blood tests: For HIV, syphilis, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
  2. Bacterial swabs: For gonorrhoea and chlamydia. It is crucial to request three-site testing — throat, genitals (urine), and rectum — as a urine sample alone misses the majority of bacterial STI infections in MSM. If the clinic doesn't offer all three sites by default, ask explicitly:
    • Throat swab
    • Rectal (anal) swab
    • Urine sample (for the urethra)

💶 Anonymity and Cost

  • Cost: All services at the GU Clinic, including consultations, testing, and treatment, are completely free of charge for everyone (Maltese citizens, expats, and tourists).
  • Confidentiality: The clinic operates on strict confidentiality. To protect your anonymity, you will be assigned a unique code number when you register, which is used for processing your tests and records rather than your name.

📱 Getting Your Results

The clinical staff will instruct you on how and when you will receive your results (usually by a phone call or a return visit).

If you receive a positive result for a bacterial STI (like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, or syphilis), your treatment will be managed directly and confidentially by the GU Clinic. (See Positive STI Result for more details.)

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