- NHS hospital
Hull Royal Infirmary
Assessment report published 20 May 2026
Contents
Judgements
Our view of the service
We carried out this announced on-site assessment on 24 March 2026.
The paediatric sexual assault referral centre (SARC) at the Hull Royal Infirmary offers free medical, practical, and emotional support to children aged under 16, and young people aged 16 and 17 with additional vulnerabilities, who have experienced sexual assault including rape. The centre is staffed by specialist clinical personnel and is available Monday to Friday between 08.30 and 16.30. It is based in a prefabricated building.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust manage the SARC, and it is commissioned by NHS England (NHSE). The SARC covered a large geographical footprint, providing a service to 4 local authorities; Hull, East Riding, North East Lincolnshire, and North Lincolnshire.
Prior to this inspection we spoke with the SARC manager, who was also the Trust’s named nurse for safeguarding children and an administrator. During the inspection we spoke with a paediatric consultant (The Trust’s named doctor for safeguarding children and SARC clinical lead), 2 nurses, an administrator and the head of quality compliance and risk, as well as a Trust senior leader. We checked the building and looked at the SARC’s policies and procedures, and other records about how the service was managed. We reviewed 10 patient records and a summary of feedback the SARC had received from patients and professionals.
We assessed 10 quality statements in total. We found the provider had met the regulations and evidence showed that patients received a good standard of care and treatment. There were effective systems in place to safeguard children and young people from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control, and prescribing and administering of medicines.
Patients’ needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice guidance. Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from patients and ensured this was kept under review during their time at the SARC.
Staff demonstrated a caring approach and maintained patients’ dignity during their examination. The service was responsive to patients’ different needs.
Members of staff received regular supervision and appraisal of their working practices. We found there was effective leadership and governance checks which ensured that any areas for improvement were identified and acted on.