Published: 17 December 2009
Still Fudging meeting the Target
Health Minister, Ann Keen, has claimed that the NHS is ‘on track’ to virtually eliminate mixed-sex accommodation from hospitals across England.
The announcement follows the publication of a Taskforce report - Delivering same-sex accommodation – the story so far – which highlights that all trust improvement schemes supported by the Department of Health’s £100m ‘Privacy and Dignity Fund’ will be completed by June 2010.
The government claims that this means that ‘sleeping in same-sex bays or wards and having access to same-sex toilets & bathrooms facilities is now the everyday experience of the overwhelming majority of NHS patients, at every stage in their journey through care’.
All trusts are expected to provide same-sex accommodation and, by 2010, any trust that fails will be subject to financial sanctions.
This latest report outlines the progress of the intensive drive set up by the Department in January and also builds on work outlined back in 1997, when the NHS was asked to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation from specific clinical departments in 95 per cent of trusts in England by 2002.
Since January, over 200 trusts have commissioned 1,157 schemes across nearly 400 sites.
Improvement works have included:
· over 2,300 new or refurbished toilets and bathrooms
· 10,800 extra modesty curtains to ensure patient privacy within same-sex areas
· over 14,000 new signs to help patients find same-sex facilities, such as the toilets or bathroom
· 960 other building projects such as women-only lounges, security doors and reglazing windows with frosted glass
· almost 700 new bed management systems to get patients to the right bed on first admission
· over 1,200 education & training programmes
These schemes are part of a wider programme of work on delivering same-sex accommodation which also saw new Improvement Support Teams set up to assist those trusts needing the most guidance and support.
This included helping trusts understand their problem areas and supporting them in developing & implementing solutions.
Health Minister Ann Keen said:
“Back in January we announced that mixed-sex accommodation would no longer be tolerated in the NHS, unless clinically justified.
Since then we have driven through intensive changes and the latest data shows the dramatic effect that this has had.
The overwhelming majority of NHS patients now sleep in same-sex accommodation. This is a significant achievement and will make a real difference to patients.
These schemes are not just a quick fix and the transformations are not just focussed on the physical environment.
The works span from building improvements and new management processes through to training and communication programmes.
These all contribute to a patient’s experience of care and all serve to ensure that patients receive the privacy and dignity they deserve.
We are also clear that any trust that fails to deliver same-sex accommodation, except where clinically justified, will be subject to financial sanctions.”
Keith Pearson and Kathryn Riddle, Joint Chairs of the Delivering Same-Sex Accommodation Taskforce added:
“Quality of patient care is a core principle of the NHS and the NHS Constitution makes it clear that privacy and dignity are fundamental rights.
The activity and achievement on this intensive drive to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation has been immense and we have been privileged to see what can be delivered when patient groups, clinicians, managers, politicians, architects, designers and the public come together to put people’s privacy and dignity at the centre of their planning.”
The government recognise that there are times when the need to treat & admit can override the need for complete segregation.
This might apply, for instance, with:
· A patient needing very high-tech care, with one-to-one nursing (e.g. ICU, HDU)
· A patient needing very specialised care, where one nurse might be caring for a small number of patients
· A patient needing very urgent care (e.g. rapid admission following heart attack)
Where mixing does occur, it must be justifiable for all the patients affected.
There are no blanket exemptions for particular specialties and no exemptions at all from the need to provide high standards of privacy and dignity at all times.
Further information
Delivering same-sex accommodation progress report: the story so far
DH – Same-sex accommodation (see links to left of page)
Privacy and Dignity - A report by the Chief Nursing Officer into mixed sex accommodation in hospitals
Patients Association
Guardian - Labour 'rattled' over mixed-sex wards
DH: Elimination of mixed-sex hospital accommodation (2005)
Related articles
Single Sex Accommodation in NHS Wards
Healthcare Commission Survey of NHS Hospitals
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