Professionals
This page is for professionals working within agencies such as police, health and social care, local authorities and the public sector who may wish to refer visitors to a SARC/MSAS or familiarise themselves with our services.
For further information or training from our SARC, please get in touch by calling 0330 223 0099 or emailing us at sarc.msas@mountainhealthcare.co.uk (email is monitored from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday).
What is a SARC?
A Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is a 24/7/365 expert clinic offering confidential medical services, compassionate support and helpful service referrals for anyone who has experienced sexual assault or rape in their lifetime. You do not have to tell us your name to use our services.
You can access the service for free and without reporting what happened to the police.
If you would like the police involved, we can help you report what happened.
SARC services include:
- Immediate over-the-phone rape and sexual assault support and signposting to specialist services
- In-person rape or sexual assault crisis support and healthcare including access to medicine
- Forensic medical examinations
- Holistic examinations and care for non-recent cases
- Collection and storage of forensic samples
- Referrals to specialist counselling and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) support
- Follow-up calls after an appointment
You will be offered these services based on your individual needs and you can choose to use as much or as little of our service as you wish.
Visitors need an appointment before attending a SARC in person. Please call us to make an appointment on 0330 223 0099.
MSAS SARCs
The MSAS service covers three SARCs in Kent, Surrey and Sussex
MSAS service
To speak with a male outreach worker, call us on 0330 223 0099, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm and you will be connected to your local SARC. If you call out of hours a female nurse will also be able to help you.
Our MSAS service runs alongside all our SARC services and offers:
- Immediate over-the-phone support and referrals to specialist services including counselling and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) support
- In-person crisis support at the SARC
- Free training for external organisations and professionals on SARCs and sexual assault. To book a training session with our team please call 0330 223 0099 or email us sarc.msas@mountainhealthcare.co.uk
Patients 13 years and younger
Services for children aged 13 and under are provided by specialist trained paediatricians. To refer a child to the SARC, please follow your organisational Safeguarding Policy and procedures.
This video from the Child Sexual Abuse Centre offers a good overview of the medical examination. Please take a look to learn more and contact us if you have any queries.
Before an appointment
A patient may have been asked by Beech House or another professional to not wash their body or drink hot liquids before an appointment. This is to help preserve forensic evidence. The comfort of our patients is most important so if this has happened don’t worry, they can still attend an appointment.
An appointment may last for 2 to 5 hours depending on the care and support needed so visitors may want to wear or bring some comfy clothes to change in to. During the appointment patients will be offered the opportunity to shower following the examination and can also change clothes then.
If you are bringing a patient to the SARC for an appointment, please try to arrive on time. If you think you are going to be early or late please contact us to let the staff know.
Forensic Medical Examinations
Medical examinations are conducted by our highly skilled and compassionate nurses.
Depending on when the incident happened, patients may be offered the option to have a forensic medical examination that includes checking for any physical injuries and collecting forensic samples. If an examination is something they are considering, it is best to contact us as soon as possible.
We offer to collect forensic samples even if a client does not want to involve the police at the time. This gives clients the option to have forensic evidence if they choose to report the incident at a later date. In this instance all samples will be stored at our SARC.
During the examination the nurse and crisis worker will regularly check in with the patient to make sure they are ok and want to continue. Patients are in control and can have a break or stop the examination at any point.
After the examination patients have the option of having a shower at the centre and we provide a care bag which has items such as shampoo and a toothbrush. We also provide clothing to change into if a patient’s clothing has been taken as evidence.
After an appointment
After an appointment, professionals and clients can contact us at any time to ask questions or to get further help and support.
With their permission, one of our nurses will call the client 6 weeks after their appointment to check in and make sure they have been contacted by the referral services recommended for them.
Get in contact
with us
Make a SARC
appointment
Call our 24/7/365 telephone to make an appointment:
0330 223 0099
Professional
Referrals
All referrals from Police and professionals should be made by telephone:
0330 223 0099
Helpful
Resources
Visit our Resources page to find our leaflet and information on other helpful services.
