Dignity, respect and privacy
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Ensuring dignity and respect for our patients means that we respect you as an individual and we respond to your needs with compassion and kindness, providing support wherever necessary, ensuring your needs are taken into consideration and that your privacy is respected.
Your records
You have the right to privacy and confidentiality and to expect us to keep your confidential information secure and safe. Find out more about your health records and how we use them.
Same sex accommodation
We believe that providing same-sex accommodation is an important part of protecting your right to privacy and ensuring that you are treated with dignity and respect.
For a trust to say that it has same-sex accommodation, it must provide sleeping areas and toilet and washing facilities that are for men or women only and these areas must be clearly labelled.
Toilet and washing facilities should be easy to get to, not a long way from your bed and you shouldn’t have to go through accommodation or toilet or washing facilities used by the opposite sex to get to your own.
All of our services comply with same-sex accommodation regulations. People tell us that being in same-sex accommodation makes a big difference to how comfortable and relaxed they feel while they are in hospital. Having to share accommodation with members of the opposite sex can threaten people’s privacy and dignity at a time when they may already be feeling vulnerable. Some people also have cultural or religious reasons for not wanting to share accommodation with members of the opposite sex.
NHS regulations mean that same-sex accommodation should be maintained at all times but in exceptional circumstances the need for fast effective treatment may be greater than the need to provide same-sex accommodation.
This might happen if you need urgent or highly specialised care. In this situation our staff would be expected to protect your privacy and dignity. We will keep you informed and move you into same-sex accommodation as quickly as possible.
If you are concerned or have any questions, talk to a staff member.
Accessible Information Standard
Since 1st August 2016, all NHS organisations have been legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard (AIS).
The standard aims to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are provided with information that they can easily read or understand and with support so they can communicate effectively with health and social care services.
In the spirit of the AIS, The Trust is committed towards meeting the information and communication support needs of disabled people, improving outcomes and experiences and providing safer and more personalised care and services.