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NHS Sexual Safety Charter

Reference: 24-25386

Date response sent: 18/12/2024

Details of enquiry

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide me with the following information about the trust’s compliance with the NHS sexual safety charter.  The trust is a signatory to the charter.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/sexual-safety-in-healthcare-organisational-charter/  All signatories to the charter, including your trust, “commit to a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours towards our workforce.”

Where there are gaps in your records that limit the information you can provide please explain these in response to the relevant question.

  1. Has the trust received written advice or guidance from NHS England setting out how to comply with the NHS sexual safety charter? Please answer yes or no.
    • If yes, please set out what advice or guidance NHS England provided, or provide a copy of it.
  2. If you answered yes to question 1, has NHS England provided written advice or guidance as to how the trust should record the prevalence of unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour in order to comply with point 10 of the charter? Please answer yes or no.
    • If yes, please set out what advice or guidance NHS England has provided, or provide a copy of it. Specifically, please clarify whether this guidance prescribes what sexual harm data the trust should record, and how to record it? For example, does it stipulate that the trusts should record specific categories of sexual harm, such as patient-on-staff or staff-on-patient incidents? If so, please provide details.
  3. If the trust has received no guidance from NHS England as to how to record the prevalence of unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour, how does the trust currently record these incidents?
    • Does the trust record and centrally collate all types of sexual safety incidents? Please answer yes or no.
    • Which of the following categories of incidents does the trust record and centrally collate. Please answer yes or no:
  • Patient-on-staff incidents
  • Staff-on-staff incidents
  • Patient-on-patient incidents
  • Staff-on-staff incidents
  • Visitor-on-staff incidents
  • Visitor-on-patient incidents
  • Patient-on-visitor incidents
  • Staff-on-visitor incidents
    • Does the trust record any other categories of incidents, such as incidents perpetrated by members of the public? If so, please provide details of these categories.
  1. Is the trust fully compliant with all 10 points of the sexual safety charter?
    • If yes, when did the trust become fully compliant?
    • If no, what points of the charter has the trust yet to comply with; and when does the trust expect to become fully compliant with the charter?
  2. Has the trust’s compliance with the charter been assessed or audited by NHS England? Please answer yes or no.
    • If yes, what were the findings of that assessment or audit? Was the trust deemed to be fully compliant, partially compliant or not compliant?
    • If yes, when was the assessment or audit carried out and when did the trust receive its findings?
  3. Has the trust undertaken any internal audits or assessments of its compliance with the sexual safety charter? Please answer yes or no.
    • If yes, what were the findings or this assessment or audit?
    • If no, does the trust have plans to conduct an audit or assessment of compliance?
    • If you answered yes to 6.2, when does the trust plan to conduct this assessment or audit of compliance?
  4. Does the trust keep centralised records of child abuse committed on the trust premises? Please answer yes or no
  5. Which incident and risk reporting system does the trust use to record sexual unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour? (For example, Datix or Ulysses.)
  6. Has the trust appointed a domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) lead? Please answer yes or no.

Response sent

  1. Has the trust received written advice or guidance from NHS England setting out how to comply with the NHS sexual safety charter? Please answer yes or no.

1.1. If yes, please set out what advice or guidance NHS England provided, or provide a copy of it.

Yes.  The Sexual Safety Charter Assurance Framework is available on NHS England website NHS England » Sexual safety charter assurance framework

  1. If you answered yes to question 1, has NHS England provided written advice or guidance as to how the trust should record the prevalence of unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour in order to comply with point 10 of the charter? Please answer yes or no.

Yes

2.1. If yes, please set out what advice or guidance NHS England has provided, or provide a copy of it. Specifically, please clarify whether this guidance prescribes what sexual harm data the trust should record, and how to record it? For example, does it stipulate that the trusts should record specific categories of sexual harm, such as patient-on-staff or staff-on-patient incidents? If so, please provide details.

The guidance is contained in the template policy available publicly on the NHS England website NHS England » NHS England sexual misconduct policy

  1. If the trust has received no guidance from NHS England as to how to record the prevalence of unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour, how does the trust currently record these incidents?

Not applicable, as the Trust has received guidance.

3.1. Does the trust record and centrally collate all types of sexual safety incidents? Please answer yes or no.

Yes

3.2. Which of the following categories of incidents does the trust record and centrally collate. Please answer yes or no:

  • Patient-on-staff incidents
  • Staff-on-staff incidents
  • Patient-on-patient incidents
  • Staff-on-staff incidents
  • Visitor-on-staff incidents
  • Visitor-on-patient incidents
  • Patient-on-visitor incidents
  • Staff-on-visitor incidents

Yes these are all reported on our Incident Reporting System, and where patients are victims then this is also recorded as a Safeguarding Incident.

3.3. Does the trust record any other categories of incidents, such as incidents perpetrated by members of the public?

Yes, these are all recorded on the Trust’s Incident Reporting System

3.4. If so, please provide details of these categories.

Yes, these are all recorded on the Incident System, as follows:

  • Physical and verbal abuse with following causes:
  • Abusive telephone call
  • Online trolling, social media
  • Physical or verbal abuse by non patient ( inc alleged)
  • Transphobic literature
  • Violence against staff .
  • Safeguarding with following cause:
  • Sexual abuse
  • Discriminatory abuse
  • Domestic violence and abuse.
  1. Is the trust fully compliant  with all 10 points of the sexual safety charter?

Not yet.

4.1. If yes, when did the trust become fully compliant?

4.2. If no, what points of the charter has the trust yet to comply with; and when does the trust expect to become fully compliant with the charter?

  • Training that has recently been made available from NHSE
  • Policy drafted but not ratified
  • Promoting culture of sexual safety, including standards of behaviour
  • Taking intersectional approach
  • Reporting and sharing data (currently capturing data through Trust incident system)

The Trust expects to become fully compliant in quarter 4 of 2024/2025

  1. Has the trust’s compliance with the charter been assessed or audited by NHS England? Please answer yes or no.

No

5.1. If yes, what were the findings of that assessment or audit? Was the trust deemed to be fully compliant, partially compliant or not compliant?

Not applicable

5.2. If yes, when was the assessment or audit carried out and when did the trust receive its findings?

Not applicable

  1. Has the trust undertaken any internal audits or assessments of its compliance with the sexual safety charter? Please answer yes or no.

No

6.1. If yes, what were the findings or this assessment or audit?

Not applicable

6.2. If no, does the trust have plans to conduct an audit or assessment of compliance?

Not at present and not prior to full implementation

6.3. If you answered yes to 6.2, when does the trust plan to conduct this assessment or audit of compliance?

Not applicable

  1. Does the trust keep centralised records of child abuse committed on the trust premises? Please answer yes or no

Yes

  1. Which incident and risk reporting system does the trust use to record sexual unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour? (For example, Datix or Ulysses.)

RADAR – incidents

CARENOTES – safeguarding concerns

  1. Has the trust appointed a domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) lead? Please answer yes or no.

No

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