Delivering same-sex accommodation
Declaration of compliance
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust is pleased to confirm that it is 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 community 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.
If our care should fall short of the required standard, we will report it. We will also set up an audit mechanism to make sure that we do not misclassify any of our reports. We will publish the results of that audit in our Board papers as part of our performance dashboard.
What does this mean for patients?
Patients admitted to Shropshire Community Health NHS 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
Communal space/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 (e.g. on your way to X-ray or the operating theatre).
Bathroom and toilet areas
- You may have to cross a ward corridor to reach your bathroom, but you will not have to walk through opposite-sex areas.
- If you need help to use the toilet or take a bath (e.g. 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.
Sleeping areas
- Whilst it is possible that there will be both men and women patients on the ward, they will not share your sleeping area.
Staff and visitors
- 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.
The NHS will not turn patients away just because a “right-sex” bed is not immediately available.
Patient Advice Liaison Service (PALS)
If you are not happy with the service you are receiving or have a concern that you want answering, please contact a member of NHS staff in the first instance. If you do not feel comfortable talking directly to one of the staff providing your care, or would prefer to talk to someone who is not directly involved in the care you receive, please contact PALS.
PALS is a confidential service for patients, their carers and family members who are receiving treatment or accessing any NHS service from Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust and, where possible, will help resolve problems and concerns quickly before they become more serious.
Compliments and Complaints
Whether you are happy or unhappy with the care you have received from the Trust, we want to hear your experiences. By giving us your feedback, you are helping us to find out what may not be going as well - so we can improve our services as a result.
Useful links
About this declaration
Statement approved by
Trust Board on 26 March 2015
Compliance period
March 2015 - March 2016
Accountable Director
Steve Gregory