#CheckWithMeFirst: Supporting survivors with trauma-informed care

February 10, 2022

Survivors of sexual abuse and violence have said time and time again that one thing that would really help them get through their medical appointments would be for healthcare professionals to let them know what they need to do and why, and to ask for consent, for every step of the procedure.

This is the core principle of the #CheckWithMeFirst campaign – understanding that taking a moment to consent, discuss and support a patient goes a long way to supporting them to have a positive experience.

#CheckWithMeFirst aims to encourage NHS professionals to make small but crucial adjustments in their approach, for example, explaining what will happen and asking the person under their care if there is anything that makes them feel anxious about the procedure before and during it, enabling the person to feel more in control. It also aims to empower survivors to let their practitioner know what might help them to better cope with their appointment, whether or not they choose to disclose recent or non-recent abuse.

If you would like to take part in the training workshops, please find the booking instructions here: Training and support to become a trauma informed champion supporting survivors of sexual abuse

The workshops will be accessible to Trust colleagues and will cover trauma-informed practice, the prevalence of sexual abuse and how this impacts the way that survivors access healthcare services, handling disclosures, and how to refer survivors to specialist support.