What to expect
A couples check screens both partners in one visit, for one bundled fee of R1200. Each partner completes a private intake with the doctor first, so anything either of you wants kept confidential stays that way. You then agree together what is shared jointly and what is not.
The visit is shaped around your shared goal. For some couples that is straightforward reassurance before dropping condoms. For others it is preconception screening, or managing a known diagnosis in one partner. The doctor screens both of you concurrently and tailors the panels to each person's history.
If results differ between partners, that is handled with care rather than alarm. Discordance counselling covers what a mixed result means, how to protect the unaffected partner, and how to conceive safely where that is the goal. Contraception and conception planning can be reviewed in the same visit.
What’s included
One bundled visit for both partners, R1200
A private, confidential intake for each partner
An agreed frame for what is shared and what stays private
Concurrent screening tailored to each person
Discordance counselling if results differ
Conception or contraception review
Individual results and individual scripts
Where and what it costs
milnerton | table-view
From
R700
One bundled fee for both partners, same visit. Individual results and scripts. laboratory bills lab tests separately per person.
What happens at a couples check
1
Private intake, each partner
Each of you completes a confidential intake alone with the doctor. Nothing from this conversation is shared with your partner without your say-so.
2
Agree the frame
Together, you and the doctor agree what will be discussed jointly and what stays private. This is settled before any testing happens.
3
Define the goal
Reassurance, preconception, or managing a known diagnosis. The goal shapes which tests each of you needs.
4
Screen both partners
Samples are collected from both of you in the same visit and sent to an accredited pathology laboratory.
5
Counselling if statuses differ
If one of you tests positive for something the other does not have, the doctor talks through prevention, treatment and safer conception without blame.
6
Conception or contraception review
Planning a pregnancy, or preventing one. Either can be reviewed and prescribed in the same visit.
7
Shared plan
You leave with a plan you both understand, and results are delivered per the frame you agreed at the start.
Frequently asked
Is anything shared with my partner without my consent?
No. Each partner's intake and results are confidential by default. At the start of the visit you agree exactly what will be discussed jointly. Anything outside that frame stays between you and the doctor, protected by medical confidentiality and POPIA.
Can we get our results together?
Yes, if you both choose that. Many couples ask for a joint results conversation, and the doctor will deliver both sets of results in one sitting. Either partner can also elect to receive theirs privately instead.
Is this useful before trying for a baby?
Very. Preconception screening picks up infections that can affect fertility or a pregnancy, such as chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B, while there is still time to treat or manage them. The visit can also cover general conception planning.
What if one of us tests positive and the other does not?
The doctor provides discordance counselling in the same conversation: what the result means, how the unaffected partner stays protected, treatment for the affected partner, and safer conception options where relevant. A mixed result is manageable and more common than most couples expect.
What should we test before trying for a baby?
A preconception screen for both partners typically covers HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, because each can affect fertility, a pregnancy or a newborn and each is treatable or manageable when found early. The visit can also review vaccinations and contraception timing.
Do you do fertility testing, like semen analysis or egg reserve?
No. The couples check is infection screening and preconception counselling, not a fertility work-up. If your history suggests fertility investigation would help, the doctor says so at the visit and refers you to the right specialist rather than selling you a test we do not offer.
Do we have to be a couple to book this?
No. Any two consenting adults who want to be screened together can book a couples check: new partners, long-term partners, or friends who simply prefer to come in together.
Conditions this service covers
Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a common bacterial sexually transmitted infection that often causes no symptoms and is cured with a short course of antibiotics.
Gonorrhoea
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection that can cause discharge and painful urination, is often silent in the throat or rectum, and is treated with an antibiotic injection plus tablets.
Syphilis
Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection that progresses in stages, beginning with a painless sore, and is cured with penicillin injections.
HIV
HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system over time; with modern antiretroviral treatment, people with HIV live full lives with a normal life expectancy.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver, often silent, that spreads through sex and blood contact and is preventable with a safe, effective vaccine.