Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021

Section 1: Provision of certain forensic medical services

9. Section 1 places formal legal responsibility for the delivery of certain forensic medical services on health boards. Health boards are required to provide an “examination service” and a “retention service”: the “examination service” relates to the carrying out of forensic medical examinations (on both a “police-referral basis” and a “self-referral” basis – see section 2(2)), while the “retention service” deals with the storage of evidence gathered during examinations (principally those carried out on a self-referral basis). Further details of the two services are provided below.

10. Each health board is to provide the services in respect of the health board’s area (although health boards can, under section 14, co-operate with other health boards in doing so – for example, by agreeing that staff from one health board will be available to assist another health board in certain circumstances). The examination service provided by each health board in its area can be accessed by any person who falls within section 2(2), regardless of where the person lives (section 1(2)(a)). So, for example, a person who is the victim of a sexual offence while visiting Scotland can access a forensic medical examination in the same way as a victim who lives in Scotland. A health board’s retention service is to be available to any person who uses that health board’s examination service (section 1(2)(b)).

11. Both the examination service and the retention service must be provided directly by health boards (except where two or more health boards are co-operating under section 14). But this does not prevent health boards contracting with third parties, where necessary, to supply any additional staff needed to assist in health boards’ provision of these services, for example to provide out of hours cover.