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Our commitment to delivering
same sex accommodation
High Quality care for All (2008) emphasises that “Quality of care includes quality of caring and how ‘personal’ care is – the compassion, dignity and respect with which patients are treated.
“People often feel at their most vulnerable when they are in hospital and being cared for in mixed sex accommodation when men and women share hospital bays, bathrooms and toilets”.
So, the provision of same sex accommodation is an important element of the privacy and dignity agenda to support the best possible experience for all patients.
In January 2009, the Department of Health announced a package of measures designed to all but eliminate mixed-sex accommodation. These measures included:
- A £100 million Privacy and Dignity Fund to support improvements and adjustments to hospital accommodation
- The launch of the Same-sex accommodation: your privacy, our responsibility campaign, to provide information and guidance for hospitals, patients and the public
- Sending an improvement team out to hospitals that need extra support, and
- Introducing rigorous and transparent performance objectives for hospitals via the standard contract from April 2010.
Healthcare trusts will be expected to show how they plan to reduce mixed sex accommodation to the lowest possible level. Across the South East Coast SHA healthcare trusts have received a £7.8 million allocation from the national Privacy and Dignity Fund. Plans to use this money to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation have been translated into 60 projects.
What we are doing
National policy sets out clear standards to respect the privacy and dignity of patients whilst they are staying in hospital.
Patients should not normally have to share sleeping accommodation or sanitary facilities with members of the opposite sex other than in exceptional circumstances (such as where the patient needs very specialised or urgent care where providing fast effective care for the patient may take priority over ensuring same-sex accommodation).
- People often feel at their most vulnerable when they are in hospital and being cared for in mixed-sex accommodation can be deeply distressing.
That is why NHS Brighton and Hove believe it is a priority to eliminate mixed sex accommodation. We are working with providers to ensure local action plans are in place, outlining how these standards will be met
The NHS Operating Framework for 2011/12 requires all providers of NHS funded care to confirm whether they are compliant with the national definition “to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation except where it is in the overall best interests of the patient, or reflects their patient choice”
All of the healthcare providers below have declared compliance with the Department of Health’s requirements for eliminating same sex accommodation. Please use the links below to access the relevant page on the each trust’s website:
