Same sex accommodation

Being in mixed-sex hospital accommodation can be difficult for some patients for a variety of personal and cultural reasons. Being cared for in a ward or other area with people of the opposite sex can be upsetting and unsettling.

Safeguarding privacy and dignity remains one of our key priorities. This is a fundamental part of providing safe, high quality care, which we are committed to delivering.

Same sex accommodation means:

  • Your bed is in a room or bay occupied only by patients of the same sex;
  • Your toilet and bathroom will be for the sole use by patients of the same sex and will be nearby.

Mixed sex accommodation means:

  • Patients are sleeping next to someone of the opposite sex
  • Or both sexes use the same bathroom facilities.

We ensure that we have robust plans in place to maintain high standards and to achieve improvements in patient experience and privacy and dignity. We aim to ensure that patients are cared for in a dignified way and that the services we deliver respect individual choices and requirements.

We provide accommodation in same sex areas throughout inpatient departments and units except in highly specialised areas such as the Intensive Therapy Unit and High Dependency Unit, the Coronary Care Unit and the Stroke Unit.

To view the Trust’s annual declaration of compliance relating to Eliminating Mixed-Sex Accommodation (EMSA) / Delivering Same Sex Accommodation (DSSA) click here.

If our care should fall short of the required standard, we will report it. Performance is reported at every Trust Board meeting, and papers are available online about a week before each meeting.