How a quality improvement initiative can be used to promote single sex accommodation

The NHS is committed to delivering privacy and dignity to all patients. To this end, the Department of Health has implemented initiatives to eliminate mixed sex wards. Salford Royal Foundation Trust is committed to three guiding principles of clean, safe and personal care. In April 2008, the trust launched its quality improvement strategy, and the single sex project within this aims to ensure that 95% of patients are admitted directly to single sex accommodation. This initiative implemented a number of tests of change relating to workforce and culture, facilities and planning, and communication. To examine whether these tests had resulted in an improvement, outcome, process and balancing measures were designed. The outcome measures showed the trust reached a compliancerate of 93% of all patients admitted to three clinical areas.