Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) - Clinical Director

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a part-time Clinical Director for the SARC service in Gloucestershire. The role provides senior clinical and forensic oversight, ensuring high standards of care, documentation, and regulatory compliance across the service.

The post leads governance, quality improvement and accreditation activities, with responsibility for safeguarding, medicines management and professional development of the forensic workforce.

Qualifications

• Must hold MFFLM and GMC in good standing.
• At least five years' experience in sexual offence medicine.
• Current member of FFLM with GMC standing.
• Experience in teaching, training, mentoring and supporting professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional and clinical leadership for SARC services.
• Oversee governance, audits, quality improvement and accreditation.
• Lead on development, implementation and review of policies, SOPs and governance frameworks.
• Ensure safeguarding, medicines management and patient safety across the SARC service.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Governance

Forensic medicine

Education & training

Education

MFFLM

GMC registration

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the Gloucester and Swindon SARC service as Clinical Director.

The role provides senior clinical and forensic oversight of the SARC service. The postholder will have professional responsibility for the quality and safety of clinical and forensic care delivered within the SARC, including appropriate clinical and forensic documentation, forensic practice, practitioner competence and adherence to relevant regulatory, professional and best practice standards.

The postholder will work closely with the SARC management, lead nurse and Quality Manager to provide clinical and forensic input into governance, audit, quality improvement and accreditation activity. The service is currently working towards UKAS accreditation against ISO 15189:2022 and compliance with the Forensic Science Regulator's Statutory Code of Practice, and the postholder will provide clinical and forensic leadership in maintaining these standards.

The post is part-time at a specialist level, 2 days per week (15.5 hours / 4 PAs). The role is hybrid, with on-site working and some working from home. We expect the candidate to be available on-site at least fortnightly.

The applicant must be able to attend the SARC within the 120-minute response time when on call.

The successful applicant must hold MFFLM, have at least five years' experience in sexual offence medicine, and be a current member of the FFLM in good standing with the GMC.
The applicant should have experience of teaching, training, mentoring and supporting the professional development of forensic healthcare practitioners.

The service is a 24/7 adult (18+) SARC service, with both nurse and medical Sexual Offence Examiners providing clinical and forensic cover across the service.

We are looking for an experienced forensic practitioner who can provide visible and effective clinical leadership, support high standards of forensic practice, and contribute to the continued development and accreditation of the SARC service.

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Clinical Leadership and Governance

Provide professional and clinical leadership for SARC services across Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Ensure delivery of high-quality forensic healthcare services that are safe, evidence-based, trauma-informed and compliant with national standards and regulatory requirements.

Lead and oversee robust clinical governance systems, including:

• Audit and quality improvement
• Clinical incident review
• Risk management
• Peer review
• Patient safety processes
• Learning from complaints and feedback
• Clinical outcomes monitoring

Ensure effective systems are in place to identify, escape and mitigate clinical and forensic risks.
Provide oversight of forensic medical examination standards, ensuring forensic integrity and adherence to FSR Codes of Practice and relevant guidance.
Lead on development, implementation and review of clinical policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), pathways and governance frameworks.
Ensure safe and effective medicines management within the SARC service.
Ensure safeguarding responsibilities are embedded throughout service delivery and that staff maintain compliance with safeguarding legislation, policy and inter‑agency procedures.
Provide professional oversight of:

• Emergency interventions following rape and sexual assault
• Forensic medical examinations
• Sexual health assessment and management
• HIV post‑exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
• Emergency contraception
• Mental health risk assessment
• Follow‑up pathways and onward referrals
• Safeguarding processes

Ensure compliance with all relevant clinical, forensic and information governance standards.

Strategic and Service Development Responsibilities

Contribute to the strategic planning and development of SARC services across Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Work collaboratively with commissioners, police, NHS organisations, voluntary sector agencies and regional SARC networks to improve patient pathways and service delivery.

Support delivery of the NHS England SARC specification and wider commissioning priorities.

Promote the SARC service through partnership working, education, professional networking and stakeholder engagement.

Contribute to service reviews, inspections, accreditation processes and external quality assurance activities.

Support innovation, research and quality improvement initiatives relevant to forensic healthcare and SARC provision.

Work collaboratively with regional paediatric SARC services and Centre of Excellence pathways where appropriate.

Leadership and Workforce Responsibilities

Provide leadership, supervision and professional support to Sexual Offence Examiners and other clinical staff working within the SARC.

Lead and facilitate:

• Clinical supervision
• Peer review meetings
• Appraisal processes
• Competency assessment
• Continuing professional development (CPD)

Support recruitment, retention and professional development of the forensic healthcare workforce.

Contribute to training programmes for healthcare professionals, police and partner agencies.

Support staff involved in statement writing, court attendance and expert witness work.

Review forensic statements and documentation where appropriate to ensure quality and professional standards are maintained.

Foster a culture of continuous improvement, psychological safety and reflective practice.

RESEARCH, AUDIT AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Lead and support clinical audit and quality improvement activity within the SARC service.

Ensure audit findings and governance outcomes inform service development and patient safety improvements.

Promote evidence-based practice and support research activity where appropriate.

Ensure the service maintains effective clinical outcome measures and quality indicators aligned with commissioning and regulatory requirements.

The Trust is required to work in line with the Government's UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, please visit - https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas