The Forensic Science Regulator's Code states that evidence recovery during forensic medical examination of complainants of sexual assault eg. at Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) requires accreditation to ISO 15189 including the Codes. Currently, all SARCs are working towards achieving this accreditation.

To support SARCs to achieve accreditation, the FCN have set up a National SARC Network which includes a workstream of various subgroups and working groups made up of specialists and experts from the SARC community, including medical professionals, DNA scientists and quality experts.

The workstream has been designed around the community needs, to optimise efficiency and effectiveness of the FCN SARC Network, to provide support to Policing and SARCs and maximise communication and escalation channels. The aim is to ensure the challenges faced by SARCs working towards accreditation are addressed, worked through, and resolved, providing shared learning on a national level.

We welcome anyone involved in working towards SARC accreditation to join the SARC Accreditation Support Subgroup, where we provide updates on all the national work currently underway to support SARCs, followed by an open session where you can raise your questions, concerns, risks and lessons learnt for discussion on anything related to meeting the ISO 15189 standard and FSR regulations.

We also invite you to join any of our working groups, where we are working together to address current obstacles and issues faced by SARCs & Policing, with the aim to provide national recommendations and guidance to reduce risk and resolve the challenges. These working groups will evolve over time, closing once a solution has been reached and recommendations issued, with new working groups introduced to address the next challenges we face.

If you would like to join any of the subgroups or working groups within the FCN SARC Network, please let us know by emailing Michelle Gaskell -Quality Specialist - SARC Accreditation National Lead.

In addition to the workstreams, the FCN are currently scoping interest from the SARC community for the FCN to provide additional support in the form of an Accreditation Support Team (AST) which includes former UKAS Assessment Managers/Lead Assessors, and Quality Specialists with a wealth of knowledge and experience to support your preparations for UKAS assessment. The service can be provided as either remote or on-site at your SARC where we will review your Quality Management System, identify areas for improvement and offer guidance and recommendations to your processes and procedures to comply with ISO 15189 and FSR requirements. If your SARC would benefit from this service now, or in the future, then please register your interest now by emailing Michelle Gaskell.

Some of what has been achieved so far…

Check out the following links to find out more about some of the fantastic outcomes the SARC community has achieved as part of the FCN SARC workstream to support SARCs nationally in working towards accreditation: