Abstract

A national survey of Forensic Physicians (FPs) working in Sexual Assault Referral Centres was undertaken. The
survey was advertised in the weekly bulletin sent out by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. Response
was relatively low (n=45). It is estimated that this figures represents about 12% of the workforce. The aim of
the survey was to investigate FPs experience of accessing mental health pathways out of a SARC for complainants
of all ages. The results concurred with a previous survey of SARC clinical managers with mental health
services proving unresponsive. Informed co-commissioning between NHS England and Clinical Commissioning
groups can only improve if aspects of complainant's mental health are routinely assessed within SARCs using
structured outcome measures. Structured outcomes should be integrated into NHS England's Sexual Assault
Referral Centres Indicators of Performance (SARCIP).