Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, the county’s mental health and learning disability service provider is pleased to report some of the success that it’s having with its commitment to enhancing same-sex accommodation.
Whilst the Trust is fully compliant with the requirements of same-sex accommodation, it has used funding provided earlier this year by the Department of Health to further enhance privacy and dignity on its inpatient wards. New signage for sleeping, bathing and toilet areas on all in patient wards explaining the nature of the accommodation, and signs, posters and publicity have informed patients and the public about same-sex accommodation.
Shelley and Bronte Wards at Ashfield Hospital and Kingsley Ward at Millbrook have all seen positive changes and reactions to the recent implementation of these enhancements on the wards. There has been a unified approach to how staff and patients have responded to new signage and renewed clarification over the use of space provided. Changes like these and their impact have raised the bar even higher for privacy, dignity and respect and staff are now being encouraged to see how they could apply this further. This includes looking at more gender specific communal areas and creating gender specific activities for the patients on the ward. There are also now a number of Privacy and Dignity Champions to spread the message across the wards.
Rachel Munton, Executive Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals said: “The enthusiasm demonstrated by our colleagues proves their dedication to ensuring that patients understand what same-sex accommodation means and reinforces the Trust’s commitment to continually enhancing the healing environment.”
