The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in London have commissioned IRISi to manage grant funding and use it to deliver their programme, ADViSE, in 2 areas of London.
ADViSE (Assessing for Domestic Violence and Abuse in Sexual Health Environments) is a programme that supports sexual health clinicians to identify and respond to patients affected by Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse and (D&SVA) and provides them with a simple and direct referral pathway to specialist services.
ADViSE has grown from a successful, evidence-based programme in general practice, IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety). Whilst the positive impact of IRIS is rapidly expanding, it is also recognised that there are some diverse patient groups who do not come into contact with general practice or other primary care services.
ADViSE therefore adapts the IRIS programme for use in sexual health clinics to support sexual health staff to recognise the signs of patients affected by D&SVA, give a validating response, and offer and make referrals to specialist services in line with British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Domestic Abuse guidance.
IRISi would like to congratulate the following specialist services on being recruited as ADViSE partner agencies to deliver this work.
We will be working side by side:
• nia to deliver ADViSE in Homerton Hospital/Homerton Trust.
• Advance to deliver ADViSE in St. Mary’s Hospital/Imperial Trust.
In 2017, ADViSE was initially piloted and researched in sexual health clinics in two sites, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and in Bristol. Our first commissioned ADViSE sites are running in four areas of Greater Manchester, and across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. ADViSE London pilots funded by the VRU will test turning research into practice within IRISi expertise and the VRU will evaluate this pilot for 12 months.