Fewer patients are having to use mixed-sex bathrooms at Oxford hospitals, according to a new survey.
The Healthcare Commission found a number of improvements for patients at Oxford Radcliffe hospitals compared to last year, with 92 per cent of patients rating the standard of care as "excellent, very good or good".
Thirty per cent of patients surveyed at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals in Oxford, and at the Horton Hospital in Banbury, spent their stay with patients of the opposite sex, a slight improvement on 31 per cent last year.
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This score placed the trust 50th best out of 165 for the fewest patients using mixed sex wards.
But only 39 per cent had to use mixed bath and shower rooms, a significant improvement on 51 per cent last year.
Jacqui Pearce-Gervis, chairman of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Patient Focus Group, said: "During recent years there have been major improvements in terms of patient satisfaction over the issue of mixed sex wards. Now, although there are still some mixed sex wards, there are more single sex four-bed bays, and we are pushing for more single-sex bathrooms on the wards."
Dorothy Holloway, 60, of Wensric Drive, Minster Lovell, said she noticed an improvement when she was at the JR with a stomach complaint in September.
She said: "There was a massive improvement compared to two years ago - there are still some mixed sex wards, but I was moved into a women's bay as soon as possible.
"There were separate bathrooms for ladies and men, and the unisex bathroom had locks on the toilet doors, which was not the case when I stayed in 2003."
Helen Peggs, a spokesman for the ORH, said the number of male and female patients sharing a ward had dropped to 29 per cent, once A&E and critical care wards had been taken out of the equation.
She added: "We are delighted that we have made such progress in improving our accommodation, so that fewer patients have to stay in a ward with both male and female bays. This includes planning new buildings with more single rooms, and refurbishing older wards."
The trust was among the top 20 per cent for 16 areas, including information for patients about their care, being treated with dignity and afforded privacy, and whether they witnessed nurses washing their hands.
The survey results also showed, however, that the number of patients experiencing a delay before they are discharged from hospital had not reduced, although the way in which the discharge process was handled had improved.
The survey results are as follows:
Questions by the Healthcare Commission to 484 patients at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and 444 at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. Answers are in percentages.
While in hospital, did you ever stay in a critical care area (Intensive Care Unit, High Dependency Unit or Coronary Care Unit)?
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust: Yes: 10 No: 90
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