During an assessment under our new approach
We carried out this announced on-site assessment on 7 May 2025.
The Blue Sky Centre Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) offers medical, practical and emotional support to adults, and young people aged 16 and 17, who have experienced sexual assault including rape. The centre is staffed by forensically trained clinicians and crisis workers and is available 24hours a day, 7 days a week.
It is located within George Eliot hospital in Nuneaton and was designed and built as a sexual assault referral centre in 2013. At the time of our inspection, it was about to undergo an extensive refurbishment and upgrade to meet the new standards for UKAS ISO accreditation for forensic services.
The SARC is managed by Mountain Healthcare Limited and is commissioned jointly by the NHS and the Police.
During the inspection we spoke with the manager, the deputy manager and one of the sexual offences’ examiners. The associate head of healthcare and the regional contract manager were also present during our visit. We checked the premises including access and cleanliness, and looked at the SARC’s policies and procedures, and other records about how the service was managed.
We assessed 10 quality statements in total under the safe, effective, caring and well-led key questions. We found the provider had met the regulations and evidence showed that people received a good standard of care and treatment. There were effective systems in place to ensure patient safety, including safeguarding vulnerable people from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control, and responding to medical emergencies.
Patients’ needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice guidance from the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM). Staff worked in collaboration with other agencies to ensure patients’ needs were supported following their attendance at the SARC.
The premises were well maintained, although the provider had identified changes to the building that were required to meet UKAS accreditation standards. However, these issues would be resolved following the refurbishment.
Members of staff were up to date with their continuing professional development and received regular supervision and appraisal of their working practices. We found there was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement at the SARC.