Same Sex Accommodation

Delivering Same Sex Accommodation

There is a commitment to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation (MSA), which means “All providers of NHS-funded care are expected to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except where it is in the overall best interest of the patient”.

See Department of Health guidance for further detail

What this means in practice:

National reporting of unjustified mixing (i.e. breaches) in relation to sleeping accommodation commenced on 1 December 2010. MSA breach data is collected monthly from all NHS providers and other organisations that provide NHS-funded care (including Independent and Voluntary Sector organisations).

As well as monitoring and reporting all unjustified mixing of sleeping accommodation, NHS Lincolnshire is also required to monitor all justified mixing in sleeping accommodation, all mixed-sex sharing of bathroom / toilet facilities (including passing through accommodation or toilet/bathroom facilities used by the opposite gender), and all mixed provision of day space in mental health units.

“Sleeping accommodation” includes areas where patients are admitted and cared for on beds or trolleys, even where they do not stay overnight. It therefore includes all admissions and assessment units (including clinical decision units), plus day surgery and endoscopy units. It does not include areas where patients have not been admitted, such as accident and emergency cubicles.

Measuring Success

All breaches of sleeping accommodation must be reported, for each patient affected. Reporting systems have been established, and data has been made public from January 2011 (reporting data from December 2010).

Patients can access the data on the NHS choices website

From April 2011 organisations will have to declare their compliance, or non-compliance, that they have eliminated mixed sex accommodation. After this date, they will be fined £250 per patient affected per day.

Please click on the links below to go to NHS Lincolnshire's main provider partners' sites:

Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust

Lincolnshire Community Health Services

Peterborough and Stamford Hospital Trust