Single Sex Accommodation
In line with national good practice guidance, NHS Bradford and Airedale is working closely with its local hospital providers to develop improvement plans around the use of mixed-sex inpatient accommodation.
Patients admitted to local hospitals can already expect high standards of privacy and dignity during their stay and can be confident that improvements will continue to be made: working towards the aim of improving the patient experience by reducing, and ultimately ending, the use of mixed-sex accommodation.
Hospitals in the district report to NHS Bradford and Airedale on the progress they are making around improving privacy and dignity, and the annual patient survey results reflect achievements in this area. NHS Bradford and Airedale is confident that the local providers are making good progress towards the national standard and currently have good levels of single-sex accommodation and continue to make further improvements where possible.
Action plans have been completed (see links below) by each of our providers which outline the steps they are taking and the work they have done to ensure that patients, their families and carers are always treated with dignity and that their privacy is respected.
In particular, these action plans address the requirement to deliver care in same-sex accommodation, which applies in a range of areas and concerns sleeping and sanitary/bathroom facilities.
National NHS good practice guidance says that single-sex accommodation can be provided in:
- single-sex wards (ie the whole ward is occupied by men or women, but not both)
- single rooms with single-sex toilets and washing facilities next to them (preferably en-suite)
- single-sex accommodation within mixed wards (ie: bays or rooms which accommodate either men or women, not both; with designated single-sex toilet and washing facilities preferably within or next to the bay or room).
NHS Bradford and Airedale will ensure the local hospitals we commission from will make year on year improvements so that patients are treated with respect and dignity, and feel content with their accommodation and know they are safe.
Action Plans for download in Adobe PDF format: