GUMCAD STI Surveillance System

About

The GUMCAD STI Surveillance System is the new name for the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD).

GUMCAD is the mandatory surveillance system for STIs and collects data on STI tests, diagnoses and services from all commissioned sexual health services in England. It is an electronic, pseudonymised patient-level dataset reported by about 400 services.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) co-ordinates and manages the quarterly data collection, processing, storage, analysis, and reporting of GUMCAD data on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Data are:

• reported quarterly to service providers and local authority sexual health commissioners
• published annually as official statistics
• used for the chlamydia detection rate on DHSC’s Public Health Outcomes Framework

All commissioned specialist (level 3) and non-specialist (level 2) sexual health services are required to complete and return GUMCAD data to UKHSA.

Further details on the development of GUMCAD are available in this article in Eurosurveillance. Details on the levels of sexual health service provision are available in the Standards for the management of STIs provided by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

How to submit GUMCAD data

These documents provide details on the completion, extraction and secure transmission of GUMCAD data to UKHSA.

GUMCAD: starter pack

GUMCAD: clinical guidelines

GUMCAD: data specification and technical guidance

GUMCAD and CTAD: data submission for STI self-sampling services

When to submit GUMCAD data

How to access GUMCAD data

GUMCAD data are subject to strict data sharing principles that are given in the HIV and STI data sharing policy.

Information on STI tests, diagnoses and sexual health services provided in England are available in a variety of formats.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables

These official statistics present information on STI diagnoses and sexual health services provided in England by demographic characteristics and geographical region.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles

These provide local area data on sexual health, reproductive health and HIV diagnoses and services through interactive maps and charts.

HIV and STI Web Portal

These are restricted-access reports for monitoring local, regional and national sexual health trends. They are accessible to registered NHS and local authority users only. Reports available include:

• local authority STI and HIV epidemiology reports (LASERs)
• GUMCAD STI diagnoses and services reports
• CTAD data quality reports
• NCSP quarterly data tables
• chlamydia re-testing following a positive diagnosis report

The principles for accessing and sharing GUMCAD data are given in the HIV and STI data sharing policy.

A wide array of information on sexual health, reproductive health and HIV is available from UKHSA and other organisations.

Sexual health, reproductive health and HIV in England

A guide to local and national data helps professionals including local government, service providers and commissioners understand the sexual health, reproductive health and HIV data available across England and how the data can be accessed.

Data request form

Other data may be requested by completing the GUMCAD data request form and sending this to gumcad@phe.gov.uk

Data requests will be assessed with regards to the risks of deductive disclosure in accordance with the HIV and STI data sharing policy. Data requests take at least 4 weeks to complete (this may be longer during busier periods).

Contact information

For further information on GUMCAD or to request access to the HIV and STI web portal, please contact the GUMCAD helpdesk at gumcad@phe.gov.uk