Privacy and dignity for all

At NUH, we believe that the dignity of our patients is about far more than the segregation of men and women. We place as much emphasis on the care delivered within the environment as on the environment itself. 

We are compliant with providing same-sex accommodation for our patients at the City Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre. 

What this means for you
 

• 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, close to your bed and clearly signposted
• It is possible that there will be both male and female patients on the ward but they will not share your sleeping, washing or toilet area (unless you require help)
• If you require help or special equipment to use the toilet or take a bath (e.g. need a hoist or special bath), you may be taken to a unisex bathroom used by both men and women. A member of staff will be with you and other patients will not be in the bathroom at the same time

There are some exceptions where male and female patients will share accommodation.
 

• Patients who need urgent clinical care or specialist equipment, such as in Intensive Care or Coronary Care Units, may be in an area with members of the opposite sex.
• Patients may also choose to share, for example when having Renal Dialysis. This is in line with national guidance. In these areas, patients receive high standards of clinical care and we maintain patients’ privacy and dignity throughout.
• There is also evidence that many young people find great comfort from sharing with others of their own age and often this outweighs their concerns about mixed-sex rooms. We believe young people should be given the choice.

----  NUH will not turn patients away just because a “right-sex” bed is not immediately available  ----

What else can you expect at NUH?
 

• 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 (e.g. 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, 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

What action have we taken?

We have carried out extensive work to make sure our hospitals are compliant, such as ensuring wards have separate toilets and bathrooms for male and female patients and providing curtains to screen patient areas. More work will be carried out over the next year to improve the clinical areas. The programme of work includes:

• Bathrooms/toilet refurbishments/upgrades (current areas planned for 2011/2012 are Harvey 1; Carrell Ward; QMC West Block wards)
• new signs to highlight same-sex accommodation areas
• new curtains to ensure privacy for patients

How will we measure our success?
 

• We will monitor any breaches of the same-sex accommodation guidance and review any complaints received to ensure that appropriate action is taken
• An investigation will be undertaken if patients have been placed in a mixed-sex environment. An action plan will be developed to stop this happening in the future
• We will have an annual visit from the Primary Care Trust (PCT) to review privacy and dignity and same-sex accommodation across our hospitals.
• We will ask questions relating to same-sex accommodation in our local patient survey and as part of the Releasing Time to Care (productive ward) project.
• We will provide regular reports to our Trust Board and to the PCT.

 

More details about same-sex accommodation at NUH
 

• Click here to read our Privacy and Dignity Policy

 

Links

You can find out more about the same-sex accommodation programme at:

• NHS East Midlands - Same sex accommodation
• Department of Health - Same sex accommodation
• Department of Health - Questions and Answers about same sex accommodation
• NHS Choices - Same sex accommodation