Same-sex accommodation
On the adult wards across Hampshire Hospitals, we always care for male and female patients in separate bays.
The only place where this may not be possible is in the intensive care unit. We will do all we can in these circumstances to maintain your privacy and dignity. For example, by using curtains to examine you and moving you to a single sex area as soon as possible.
Each ward bay has a door which can be closed. There are curtains around every bed and at corridor windows to maintain your privacy.
Privacy curtains are also available in our shower rooms and bathrooms.
Toilets have clear signage to indicate if they are for male or female patients. Many wards also have male and female designated areas, with bathing and showering facilities close by.
The door locks for toilets, bathrooms, and shower rooms can be opened by staff from the outside in an emergency, so please feel able to lock the door. Call bells are available by every bed, as well in toilets, showers, and bathrooms.
Confidentiality matters
Maintaining patient confidentiality is vital, and we will only share your information when it has a direct bearing on your health needs. In other circumstances, we will ask your permission before sharing information about you with others.
Please note that to protect patients’ confidentiality, we do not normally give detailed medical information about them to others, including over the phone.
Patients’ names are displayed on digital e-whiteboards in each ward to help us provide the best care and make sure that your care is personalised. Your consultant’s specialty may also be displayed.
If you would prefer for your name not to be displayed on the board, please tell your nurse, as your name can be anonymised.
Protecting your information
When you come into hospital, we need to collect certain information about you so that we can provide the best treatment care for your needs.
We will:
✓ make sure that your information is kept secure at all times
✓ use your information to provide the best care possible
✓ not share your information with anyone else unless permitted to do so by the law
✓ provide you with copies of your health records upon request.
At Hampshire Hospitals, we store our patients’ information within our secure systems. We restrict who can access your information and we monitor our systems to make sure than any breaches can be identified.
Staff who may need to access your information includes doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals and administrative staff.
We may share your information with professionals outside of the hospital, such as your GP, organisations who provide services on the hospital’s behalf. For example, the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and, under very restricted circumstances, external researchers.
For further information about how we protect your privacy, click here.
Accessing your health records
You have a right to access your health records free of charge. Please ask your nurse for more details. For further information, click here.
