Which training and learning opportunities it has delivered to develop the role of nurse sexual offence examiners.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing the role of nurse sexual offence examiners.The Scottish Government and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have together supported a test of change involving Queen Margaret University nurse graduates, so that they can undertake sexual offence examinations and give evidence in court. If approved by the Lord Advocate, this test of change could pave the way for nurses to undertake the role of sexual offence examiner in future.We continue to fund places on a Post Graduate Certificate (PG Cert) in Advanced Forensic Practice course at Queen Margaret University – the first of its kind in Scotland. This qualification is a pre-requisite for nurses undertaking the role of sexual offence examiner in Scotland.We also fund a skills lab at Queen Margaret University so that sexual offence examiners and recently qualified nurse sexual offence examiners can maintain and update their skills.Developing a multi-disciplinary workforce model may also support the sustainability of services in remote, rural and island communities.There are currently 24 qualified nurses with a further 10 working towards this qualification. Assuming all of the nurses graduate by July 2026, the total number of PG Cert qualified nurses in Scotland will increase to 34.