Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Charity

 Saint Mary’s Hospital, which is a sister hospital of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, provides a wide range of world class medical services for women, babies and children.  Our Trust’s Charity supports the hospital by ensuring excellence in treatment, care and research to enhance the lives of thousands of patients each year. One of the projects the Charity is seeking support for is Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).  SARC was established in 1986 as a joint initiative between Greater Manchester Police and Saint Mary’s Hospital.   As the name might suggest, SARC provides a service that meets the forensic, physical and immediate psychosocial needs of adult and children victims of rape and sexual assault.  To date over 15,000 clients have used this important service.

I wish I could say that demand for this service was decreasing but unfortunately it is not and therefore we need to develop the capacity to respond as a regional service with particular reference to the service we provide for children.  In order to serve this rising demand, SARC will require an additional examination suite for children. The additional examination room will mean that children are seen more quickly by enabling more than one examination at a time.  Currently if the adult suite or child suite is being utilised this renders it out of action for three hours, meaning three child victims of sexual abuse arriving back to back could be waiting over 6 hours for an examination. 

 

On the 24-28 September, my wife and I will be walking 90 miles around the Isle of Man to raise vital funds for the additional facilities. 

 

Any support that you are able to give will be hugely appreciated.