Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU)
The Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) Rotunda Hospital was established in 1985, and was the first dedicated unit of its kind in Europe. It has gained international recognition as a centre of excellence based on the extensive expertise that the unit holds in the medical and forensic treatment of those who have been subject to a sexual crime.
There are now six specialist units (SATU’s) distributed nationally to provide holistic, responsive and patient focused care to women and men over the age of 14 years who have experienced a sexual crime. The aim is that nobody in this country is more than 3 hours drive from their nearest SATU
The philosophy
- To provide an easily accessible, holistic service for victims of sexual crime by addressing medical, psychological and emotional needs while being cognisant of the place of forensic examination to aid the legal process.
- To provide all treatment in a non-judgemental manner, conveying that the patient is not responsible for the alleged assault.
- To continue to promote the development and progression of national services for men and women who have been sexually assaulted by a close involvement with RCNI, An Garda Siochana and forensic laboratory services.
- To develop, promote and provide postgraduate education programmes for doctors, midwives and nurses to ensure that highest quality care is provided at all times.
Location & facilities
SATU is located at the Rotunda Hospital in the Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) building in the back car park.
This is a self contained unit with a private waiting room, office, forensic examination room, bathroom and kitchen. It is a separate private facility accessed only by SATU staff. There is no signage around the main hospital to ensure privacy and confidentiality. Please see below for a map giving directions to SATU.
The Staff
SATU has a core staff consisting of a clinical midwife manager, clinical midwife/nurse specialists and administrative support led by the clinical director of the Rotunda SATU and national SATU services Dr Maeve Eogan. There is an on call team of forensic clinical examiners, support nurses and midwives who operate in the out of hours service. Psychological support is provided by volunteers from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) and Children at Risk in Ireland (CARI). Patients have access to SATU services 24 hours a day 365 days a year to accommodate a prompt response. On occasion, if our staffing levels are insufficient to provide a 24 hour services we divert our on-call service to the SATU in Mullingar.
Contact details
Tel. : 01-817 1736
Email: satu@rotunda.ie
(9.00am – 4.30pm, Monday – Friday)
To make contact outside of these hours, please telephone the Rotunda Hospital at 01-817 1700.
Children’s service
The SATU at The Rotunda Hospital offers services for men and women over the age of 14 years. Children aged less than 14 years are generally seen in the emergency departments of the childrens’ hospitals.