Single sex accommodation- April 2012
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The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is pleased to confirm that we are compliant with the Government’s requirement to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except when it is in the patient’s overall best interest, or reflects their personal choice. We have the necessary facilities, resources and culture to ensure that patients who are admitted to our hospitals will only share the room where they sleep with members of the same sex, and same-sex toilets and bathrooms will be close to their bed area. Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen when clinically necessary such as in intensive care unit, in the coronary care unit, on the acute stroke unit, in the high dependency bay on the surgical assessment unit. Or when patients actively choose to share, for instance, on our children’s wards. We will regularly be reporting our performance to our commissioners.
What does this mean for patients?
Other than in the circumstances set out above, patients admitted to Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust can expect to find the following.
Same sex-accommodation means:
- The room where your bed is will only have patients of the same sex as you
- Your toilet and bathroom will be just for your gender, and will be close to your bed area
It is possible that there will be both men and women patients on the ward, but they will not share your sleeping area. You may have to cross a ward corridor to reach your bathroom, but you will not have to walk through opposite-sex areas.
You may share some communal space, such as day rooms or dining rooms, and it is very likely that you will see both men and women patients as you move around the hospital (eg on your way to X-ray or the operating theatre).
It is probable that visitors of the opposite gender will come into the room where your bed is, and this may include patients visiting each other.
It is almost certain that both male and female nurses, doctors and other staff will come into your bed area.
If you need help to use the toilet or take a bath (eg you need a hoist or special bath) then you may be taken to a “unisex” bathroom used by both men and women, but a member of staff will be with you, and other patients will not be in the bathroom at the same time.
The NHS will not turn patients away just because a “right-sex” bed is not immediately available
What are our plans for the future?
Major investment had taken place over the past 12 months which has brought about significant benefits for our patients. We have provided additional toilets and bathrooms at both our hospitals, improved curtains for better privacy in bed areas and improved signage to make sure our patients understand the new facilities. Ward refurbishments have taken the latest privacy and dignity and infection control guidance on board:
- Part of our medical assessment unit at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) was changed from a 10-bedded area into two four-bedded rooms and one two-bedded room
- Ward 10 at HRI had a £2million revamp and now has 10 single rooms offering en-suite facilities, two four-bedded bays and one two-bedded bay.
We will build on this work further with improvement work planned on two of our medical wards at HRI and a major refurbishment planned for ward 21 at the hospital. We are also in the process of developing new endoscopy units at both our hospitals. These developments provide us with further opportunity to make sure our patients are provided with excellent accommodation which protects their privacy and dignity.
But our success in ensuring our patients are cared for in the most appropriate accommodation and that their personal needs are catered for wherever possible relies on our staff. They have taken on board the systems contained in our new policies and work hard to put them into practice. We have held workshops to embed the new systems and processes and used our staff newsletter and other communication tools to keep our staff informed and up-to-date. This work will continue.
How will we measure success?
This year we will be carrying out real-time patient monitoring across both our hospitals, asking patients their views on a range of questions including privacy and dignity and same sex accommodation. Volunteers and some of our members will talk to inpatients before they go home to gain fresh feedback which will be reported back to all wards and to our Board of Directors. This is in addition to the valuable feedback we gain through leadership walkrounds, the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) assessments, focus groups with our membership and the CQC inpatient survey.
What do I do if I think I am in mixed sex accommodation?
We want to know about your experiences. If you are still on a ward and have concerns about your accommodation please ask to speak to the Sister or Matron on the ward. If you would like us to look into any queries or concerns you may have you or a relative can also contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). The service has offices at both our hospitals:
- Calderdale Royal Hospital tel 01422 222417
- Huddersfield Royal Infirmary tel 01484 342128
- or you can e-mail pals@cht.nhs.uk