Health-care hub for gay, bisexual and trans men set to open in downtown Toronto

Steven Winkelman is all-too familiar with the barriers that gay and bisexual men face when getting health care in Toronto.

He says he's seen the need for more specialized services in the city, both as a gay man himself and as a coordinator with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN).

"A lot of doctors aren't well versed in queer health needs," Winkelman told CBC News.

"I often have to educate my family doctors on specific health-care needs like sexual health or PrEP, which is pre-exposure prophylaxis [a drug used to prevent people from contracting HIV]."

Explaining sexual experiences to a doctor can feel uncomfortable for a lot of LGBT patients, he said. They often experience stigma or discrimination.

"It drives a lot of people out of the health-care system," Winkelman said. 

A new clinic called HQ, set to open in early 2022, hopes to address this problem. The health-care hub for Toronto's gay, bisexual and trans men will offer easy testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Results, which typically take days or weeks to come back, will be returned the same day, according to Dr. Kevin Woodward, the clinic's medical director.

After some minor setbacks caused by the pandemic and supply chain delays, HQ is set to open to the public at Bay and College streets in February of next year. In addition to sexual health, HQ is holistic in its approach, also offering on-site mental health services and social programming. It's all part of an effort to provide an integrated space to serve the city's gay community, Woodward said.

Funding for the clinic was provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health, which has made an on-going annual commitment of $600,000, as well as a network of partner agencies including Ontario Public Health, OHTN, the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) and the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP).

Woodward told CBC News he's happy the clinic will be able to provide such a range of services.

"We really find that sexual health, mental health and some of the social needs of the community all go hand-in-hand," he said. "We may have people who are coming here just for sexual health care, who in the course of talking to them, you uncover that they have significant mental health needs." 

In these situations, HQ's model will allow patients to receive additional care more quickly, without having to wait for a traditional referral, Woodward said.  

HQ is meant to offer a space for gay and trans men to receive care from people who understand them and share their experiences, he said. 

"If you're going to see a provider who doesn't really have an understanding of LGBTQ issues … it can be a very difficult experience," Woodward said.