Glasgow sexual assault centre expects busy January

The new centre opened in early October this year, having moved from its base in the nearby Sandyford Sexual Health Service where it first opened in 2007 as a three year pilot project.

Demand for the service has only increased in the time since but medics were stymied by the lack of space in the Sandyford centre.

According to Dr Deb Wardle, clinical lead for the West of Scotland sexual assault services, Archway has gone through "many transitions" in that time but this move is the most significant.

Now based in the city's Anderston, the centre has doubled in size to provide two separate suites for collecting forensic evidence following a sexual assault.

Its expansion also includes two peripatetic services, one in Lanarkshire and one in Ayrshire and Arran, that allow a team to travel to visit patients closer to home, rather than have them travel to the city.

Wardle, who has been working with Archway since 2006 when it was still in the planning stages, said: "The main delay in seeing patients was because unit was already in use."

At the SARC, patients are carefully examined for forensic evidence, which is collected and stored or passed to Police Scotland.

It is vital that the examination rooms are kept sterile to prevent any DNA contamination.

Wardle, who is also Associate Postgraduate Dean in Forensic Medical Examination with NHS Education for Scotland, added: "The process can take some time.

"If a case is coming in then until they've been seen and the productions have been packaged and they are out of the unit, and we clean the unit with a special solution to limit the amount of DNA and secure the forensic integrity of the productions, no other case can come in.

"We'd grown out of the space we were in and needed to expand due to the demand for the service."

After first contacting Archway by phone, a patient will come in by themselves as a self-referral or accompanied by police and is met at the door by a nurse.

The process is carefully designed to give the patient as much control as possible and consent is asked for - and can be removed - at every step in the process.

Forensic evidence is captured and can be stored for up to 26 months while a person makes up their mind about whether to report the incident to police.

After this time, if no report is made, it will be automatically destroyed but the decision is very much that person's to make.

The evidence suites are both sterile, clinical settings but Archway also has a lounge area where the patient can spend time, if they need it, and there is a peaceful private garden outside for fresh air.

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The team is keen to let potential service users know that self-referral is an option.

In April this year the new Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021 came in to force, an element of which allows people subjected to a sexual assault to approach a SARC without first going to the police.

Debbie Ambridge, service manager for West of Scotland Sexual Assault Service and for police custody healthcare in NHS GGC, said the number of self-referrals is steadily increasing and Archway expects to see more as awareness increases.

It is, she says, important information at this time of year – referrals tend to increase in January just after the Christmas party season.

Ambridge said: "Coming up to this time of year there's a conception that activity is higher for us because of nights out and potentially about people being in positions they wouldn't normally be in.

"But that doesn't bear out for us. Looking at the activity coming through, we tend to find after the New Year, January-time, we actually see more activity because at this time of year people won't necessarily want to contact the police.

"We need people to know they don't necessarily have to go to the police. They have that support here 24/7 a day."

Wardle added: "People are more likely to hunker down over Christmas and maybe don't want to rock the boat or people can be fearful or repercussions for their job if it's a work's night out.

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"But they can have the forensic examination done, they can wait for Christmas to pass, let things settle, have some thinking time and then decide at a more regular time, 'I do want to do something with this,' then the productions are still there.

"People just aren't aware. You rarely think, 'I need to plan for what to do if I'm raped.'

"People don't think about it until it happens. It's whether or not it's accessible for people where they look at that place in time."

When Archway was first opened in Sandyford in 2007 one of the main improvements the facility brought with it was filling a gap in provision for adolescents.

The service is for anyone aged 13 and upwards with the oldest patient being 90.

It is also for all genders and, while Archway predominantly sees women and girls, it also has supported trans women, men and boys but, Wardle said, as yet no trans men.

Last year staff, including 21 full and part time doctors, 10 nurses and counselling support, saw 344 cases in the unit for examination but the service also supports many more people by phone who choose not to proceed.

Staff will refer people who don't want an examination for sexual health advice, emergency contraception or sexual health screening.

Forensic evidence must be gathered within seven days, as is protocol across Scotland, but Archway will also provide referrals for people whose assault happened historically.

Crucially, all support is non-judgemental and designed to start the road to recovery.

"Everyone is seen as an individual and it doesn't matter what's happened or why this has happened to them," Ambridge said. "The clinicians may need to ask questions to make sure that we get the right investigations and support in the right manner.

"But it is non-judgemental, completely. It is holistic care from the moment they step through the door."

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Wardle added: "When we ask for feedback we're told that people appreciate the safety of the environment and our taking the time to talk.

"We ensure there are no surprises, after having the rug pulled from under them. We keep people constantly informed so there's that sense of control coming back again.

"They can then start standing on their own two feet again."