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Hospital stay

Posted By Not Quite Old Fashioned

"Hospital stay"

About: The Townsville Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I had a number of admissions last year (as a private patient) and I cannot fault the kindness I received from most staff and the quality of care I received each time when I came in via Emergency. The only thing I did not care for was having shared wards with other genders. Having gynaecological treatments/examinations in a ward full of men, behind nothing more than a flimsy paper curtain, is rather daunting and highly embarrassing especially when there is no privacy and everything about your medical condition can be readily heard by those around you (patients and visitors). I understand that as a private patient I am not entitled to a room on my own but it would be lovely if there were women or men only wards.

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Responses

Response from Julie Shepherd, Nurse Manager Patient Experience, Patient Services; Clinical Governance Directorate, Townsvillle Hospital and Health Services 8 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Julie Shepherd
Nurse Manager Patient Experience, Patient Services; Clinical Governance Directorate,
Townsvillle Hospital and Health Services

Submitted on 2/02/2016 at 9:56 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:21 PM

Dear ‘Not Quite Old Fashioned”,

Thank you for providing us with your feedback, it is really pleasing to know that you have received care with kindness. Our staff work hard each day to deliver good quality care and your feedback helps to reinforce to us, the things we are doing well. Thank you for your kind words.

The point you have raised about mixed gender rooms certainly is a subject that raises a lot of questions and it is one where the answers are not always so straight forward to fix. I apologise that you felt embarrassed and found the experience daunting. Your story will be shared with teams across the organisation to raise the awareness of providing greater dignity in care.

This particular issue of mixed gender rooms is one that major acute hospitals around the world are facing. As a health service, we are currently reviewing our local practices and processes to consider how we may reduce the instance of mixed gender rooms without slowing a patient’s journey into a suitable bed. I truly hope, with the work we are currently undertaking, that our health service can be one which will see us as leaders in addressing and minimising this issue.

I apologise that you have had this experience and please know we are currently working with genuine diligence to do what we can to provide greater dignity in care.

Thank you again for sharing your story,

With kind regards

Julie Shepherd

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