The Health Shop

08/04/2026

Thank you to the Nottingham Frontrunners for having us again last night. We enjoyed hopping, running and chatting with you all.

And as always, thank you to The Lord Roberts Nottingham for letting us use your fabulous space and for your gracious hosting.

We’ll see you again in a few months.

31/03/2026

Nottingham Frontrunners We look forwards to seeing you on 7th April. We’ve arranged a bunny run for next weeks’ theme, whether you choose to don a pair of bunny ears, go full on costume or just run after our carrot, we appreciate your efforts.

Whether you’re a bad bunny, or a good one, we are here for you.

11/03/2026

This Sunday was International Women’s Day.

We are thinking of the women experiencing oppression, war, torture, unlawful and inhumane conditions. We stand in solidarity with the women of Iran, of Palestine, of Sudan. We stand in solidarity with the women being arrested for accessing terminations or being refused lifesaving healthcare. We stand with the dolls.

Not only do we stand in solidarity with women. We rage with you, we have compassion for you, we are hopeful for you.

Last year, we saw that women in Nottingham city were being let down by services. Often women are left behind or forgotten about because they are conditioned to be resilient and persevere through tough times. We don’t accept this. We want women to know that it’s okay to be soft, to access support and for this support to be as accessible as possible.

This is where The Access Project was born. We will continue to try and make services as accessible and safe go women as possible. And we will continue to advocate for the women whose voices aren’t heard.

Please see this article written about the work we’ve done so far.

We’d like to thank all the people who have helped the women through our project, especially the women from the Nottingham Integrated Sexual Health Services and Nottingham Recovery Network. This partnership has revolutionised the way we engage with women.

The Access Project offers vital s*xual health, contraception and harm‑reduction support for vulnerable women in Nottingham

05/03/2026

Our peers have distributed 403 Naloxone kits in the city in just over a year!

We are so proud of our peers and all the hard work they do, and we want to thank you all for being so amazing.

26/02/2026

We had a blast at the Rainbow Heritage LGBT Awards last night.

Each year we attend, we get to catch up with old friends and make even more new ones.

We’ve are so proud to have been a part of the Nottingham LGBTQ+ scene for decades and it’s always lovely to hear people talk about our services; old or new.

The awards is an annual reminder of how far we’ve come and how much is still left to do. Thank you for having us, as always.

11/02/2026

We are excited to say that we have recently made friends with The Love Tank CIC. Watch this space for some collaborative work with them. 🖤🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

06/02/2026

Yesterday we attended the Empowerment & Wellbeing event hosted by Nottinghamshire Sexual Violence Support Services for Sexual Violence & Sexual Abuse Week.

We delivered two Naloxone training sessions and networked with lots of services and attendees.

09/01/2026

We want to say thank you to Twisted Pole for you generous donation.

Twisted Pole is a friendly and inclusive studio in Nottingham City Centre that offers classes in pole dance, flexibility and more.

They run with a s*x work inclusive ethos and ensure the origins of pole aren’t forgotten. Because of this, we’d like to use this opportunity to raise awareness of pole and its history.

07/01/2026

Today marks a monumental occasion; the end of an era, some might say. We have become a paperless service! And in true Health Shop style (well, The Health Shop meets Moira Rose), we gave our paper files a proper send off.

For those who don’t know, The Health Shop was established over thirty years ago, being set up during the HIV epidemic. Back then, we used ID numbers and paper files to ensure people could remain anonymous within services.

Over the years, and as times have changed, we have embraced the online monitoring systems and stopped using ID number cards, instead we take a name a date of birth from clients, still allowing people to remain anonymous by giving an alias name if they choose to do so.

This morning we gathered as a team to discuss the end of paper files, looking back over the years and remembering clients who are no longer with us but whose numbers we remember.

We ended our service shredding a paper file, to symbolise the end of this era.

24/12/2025

Blog: A Day in the Life of.. The Health Shop.

Do you ever wonder what happens behind the blue door? So much of the work we do isn’t visible and happens behind the scenes. We are small but mighty.

We wanted to share with you a day we had in November so you can see a snapshot of our day-to-day workings.

23/12/2025

We have been gifted some finger cots to trial by *xyhealth - a q***r s*xual health organisation specialising in W|W s*xual health.

Did you know that condoms and dams aren’t the only barrier protections that have been designed? Finger cots are can help to prevent the spread of STI’s and infection and are designed be worn on fingers during s*x/play.

If you have any cuts or ripped skin on your fingers, you are more at risk of transmitting an infection, and these can help reduce that risk.

They can also be used for a**l play as they help reduce the spread of bacteria between the people involved.

Finger cots could be used on s*x toys that are too small for condoms.

If you’re interested in trying these out, drop us a message or call and we can sort out a bag for you to collect.

22/12/2025

We want to say a big thank you to Sleep Pod for your generous donations.

We have been able to provide warmth and shelter to some of our most vulnerable clients during these winter months, and it means a lot.