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Posted on 21 Mar 2022

This week, we have launched an engagement campaign to understand your views about whether our Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) wards should be mixed sex or single sex. 

MHSOP wards care for people with dementia or severe mental illness, and because these patient groups cannot be cared for on the same ward, separate wards must be maintained. Currently, this allows for a dementia ward and a mental health ward at each of the two hospital sites at Highbury (Nottingham) and Millbrook (Mansfield).

All our older people wards are currently mixed sex. This means that communal areas are mixed, but there are female-only communal spaces provided, while each bedroom area (dormitories) is single sex. 

From around 2026, all patient sleeping areas will be changed from dormitories to single bedrooms with ensuite toilet/shower, giving every patient their own room.

With this in mind, we are asking patients, carers and local people whether we: 

• continue with mixed sex wards and mixed communal areas but with individual rooms, with the option of a dementia and mental health ward at both hospital sites (Nottingham and Mansfield)

or

• move to single sex wards and individual rooms, but with the dementia ward being based on one site and the mental health ward being located on the other. This may mean patients, their family and their friends have to travel further if there is a need for an inpatient stay. 

It’s really important that we get the views of patients, carers, families and local communities to help us understand what people want and help us shape the services we provide.  You have an important role to play as we strive to deliver the best services we can to meet the needs of our diverse communities.  

To find out more about the engagement, and how to have your say, please take a look at our engagement page here.