Same sex accommodation
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust remains committed to complying with the Government’s requirement to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except when it is in the patient’s overall best interests or reflects their personal choice, for example in critical care settings such as intensive care and other specialist care areas.
We have the necessary facilities to provide sleeping areas and toilet and washing facilities that are for men or women only. This will mean different things in different hospitals. You could be:
- in a same-sex ward, where the whole ward is occupied by either men or women only
- in a single room, or
- in a mixed ward, where men and women are in separate bays or rooms with members of the same sex
Toilet and washing facilities should be easy to get to, not a long way from your bed. You should not have to go through accommodation, toilet, or washing facilities used by the opposite sex, to get to your own. Gender neutral toileting facilities are also available throughout the trust.
The trust implements this commitment in practice through the Same Sex Accommodation and Privacy and Dignity Policies. If our care should fall short of the required standard, we will identify this through our internal reporting process’ and report it externally to our commissioners. Our mixed sex accommodation data will be regularly reviewed by our Quality Committee and reported to the Board annually as part of our ongoing commitment and our declaration of compliance.
During the pandemic the national requirement for trusts to audit and report on mixed sex accommodation was paused. National reporting this has now recommenced.
