- NHS hospital
Royal Preston Hospital
Assessment report published 6 October 2026
Contents
Judgements
Our view of the service
We carried out this announced on-site assessment on 25 August 2026.
The Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at the SAFE Centre provides medical, forensic, practical and emotional support to children, young people and adults who have experienced sexual assault, including rape. The service is staffed by forensically trained clinicians and crisis workers who support children, young people and adults throughout their care and treatment.
Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust manage the SAFE Centre SARC, and it is commissioned by NHS England (NHSE). At the time of our inspection, the service was progressing towards assessment and accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), to meet the requirements of ISO 15189 and the Forensic Science Regulator’s standards, supporting the collection, preservation and management of high-quality forensic evidence.
As part of our assessment, we spoke with 3 sexual offence examiners, including the clinical director, the SARC manager, 3 crisis workers, the SARC quality manager, and administrative staff. We also met with a range of operational managers and governance leads from across the trust. In addition, we sought feedback from NHSE commissioners and police partners who work closely with the service and are familiar with the quality of care it provides.
We inspected the premises, including arrangements relating to accessibility, infection prevention and cleanliness. We reviewed a range of policies, procedures and governance records and examined patient records to assess the quality and safety of care being delivered.
We assessed 10 quality statements across the Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led key questions.
Overall, we found that the provider was meeting the relevant regulations and delivering a good standard of care to children, young people and adults. There were effective systems in place to safeguard children, young people and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control, and prescribing and administering of medicines.
Patients’ needs were comprehensively 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. However, some trust policies and procedures did not reflect Gillick competence guidelines.
Children, young people and adults received compassionate care from a highly skilled team.
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 processes for monitoring the standards and quality of care provided were in place. Partnership working with safeguarding, health and criminal justice agencies was good.