Healthcare professionals - supporting adults who present having experienced rape or sexual assault: clinical pathway

4. Service Models

Key points

• Local services should be delivered as close as possible to the point of need supported by a regional centre of expertise
• The centres of expertise could take a number of forms e.g. a physical space or a virtual role

The Health Board Service Specification describes what should be provided for the delivery of safe and forensically secure person-centred healthcare and forensic medical services

A robust options appraisal process (informed by best practice and the views of people with lived experience) was carried out in 2018 under the remit of the CMO Taskforce. A wide ranging stakeholder event was then held to determine the optimal model and configuration of healthcare and forensic medical services for Scotland. These were agreed by the Taskforce in August 2018.

The clear preference from the options appraisal exercise was for local services to be delivered as close as possible to the point of need supported by a regional Centre of Expertise (CoE).

The role of the CoE may vary across Scotland. In some areas, it may be a physical space where multi-agency partners provide a wraparound service to people in their immediate area, as well as to provide a range of expert advice and support to the other Health Boards in the region. In other areas, the CoE may have a virtual role. Either way, Health Boards within a region should seek to maximise opportunities to collaborate. For further information on the CoE, please refer to the Health Board service specification document^[41].

4.1 Health Board Service Specification

In addition to the multi-agency, coordinated services that are being implemented across the Health Boards, a service specification has been developed which describes what should be provided within a healthcare environment for the delivery of person-centred healthcare and forensic medical service provision following rape or sexual assault, and to ensure the forensic integrity of samples taken and stored. The service specification document is to be used as a control document and reference point for the development of service provision. It will currently be updated by the CMO Taskforce Unit to reflect significant changes. The first full version should be used as a baseline and each consecutive iteration should be retained for audit and control purposes.