Hospital toilets. Mixed sex

[BetweenAppointments]

I have posted about this (last year) but am making a new thread as wanted to actually take some action now.

I am a cancer patient at at a London cancer hospital. A new wing was opened a couple of years ago, and all of the toilets are sex cubicles with shared spaces for hand washing. I will add photos.

on most floors they are completely mixed sex and you can choose which cubicle you go in. Shared hand washing spaces.

in the main foyer they have put up signs to indicate men’s and women’s cubicles, but still shared hand washing.

I absolutely hate them. They’re completely inappropriate in a hospital setting, particularly a cancer hospital where many patients are unwell or dealing with very personal side effects of treatment

I’m planning to write formally to the hospital and would really like to push for change (or at least for proper single sex options). I will add photos so you can see what I mean.

Has anyone else experienced this in hospitals or public buildings? Has anyone successfully complained or campaigned about similar facilities? Any advice on how best to approach this or who to escalate to would be very welcome.

I wonder what the percentage is of men who wash their hands after using the loo. According to DHH not very high. Cross contamination and all that.

photos of the toilets an shared hand washing spaces

Are they floor to ceiling cubicles? These are dangerous as if someone is unwell inside they can't be seen/ heard/ helped.

Sorry they have added insult to injury with this.

I think its part T of the building regs that relates to single sex toilets (unsure if that covers hospitals).

Yes floor to ceiling doors on the toilet cubicles.

There is someone on here who is an expert. I'll see if I can find her name.

@keeptoiletssafe can you help?

I worked for the NHS many years ago where we treated the concept of mixing sex spaces like poison. It was an absolute unrefuted no no and great lengths were gone to to ensure sexes did not mix.

Whats happened?!

No door gaps. Can't see anything in the cubicle, like a pull cord, if someone requires help.

Appalling.

These look dangerous (no gaps if somebody collapses/faints), scary (men) and embarrassing (GI issues due to chemo, illness etc etc).
I don’t understand how anyone could design these and think they’re a good idea.
I hope you can get some support with your complaint.

Are these doors unlockable from the outside for emergency situations?
If not thats a problem .
My neice was pushed into a cublcle and raped (not in a hospital setting) but this set up would cause her great distress.
It also doesnt meet the needs of those who want/need privacy from males eg: washing period stained hands or whose religious/cultural practices mean they need a single sex space to wash or adjust clothing.
I cant see any benefits to this configuration.

I don't think shared washbasins are in line with the regulations for mixed sex facilities. They are certainly not considered good practice.

https://sex-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Toilets-matter.pdf

Sex Matters document on best practice.

Diagram of toilets in main foyer.

the toilets in the other levels have no m/f signage so are open to all

I just noticed there are small gaps between the cubicles! More than big enough for a camera phone.

I thought mix sex toilets were supposed to be self contained with the sink inside and opening in to a main thoroughfare.

Of course they’re unlockable from the outside.

But if someone is collapsed inside or someone is being raped in there an inward opening door is a barrier to access even when unlocked. Also if staff can unlocked it from the outside so can men who are unmonitored in this isolated area.

The newly refurbished A&E local to me, has self contained toilets, opening into main corridor with two way hinged doors. This should be the standards for a newly built/ refurbished hospital if they want mixed sex toilets, and in areas where visitors are prone to becoming unwell/ collapsing.

I've encountered some enclosed cubicles that arent unlockable from the outside in a hospital setting and its unclear from the photograghs. Why are you so certain these are?
Even those that are unlockable(although that is preferable to not being unlockable from outside) from the outside may pose safeguarding risks with vulnerable people at greater risk of collapse,surely?

This is appalling. I would think that not having a private or at least single-sex basin area in a hospital toilets is totally unacceptable. Surely anyone would realise this? You could have any number of situations in which you may need washing facilities that you absolutely wouldn't want to share with someone of the other sex. Surely it doesn't take a lot of imagination to see that? I would definitely complain and very loudly, OP.

So very sorry @BetweenAppointments . Patients shouldn't have to be dealing with this shit. Far too many dodgy people working in positions of power in the NHS able to remove safeguarding from women and to inflict their toxic niche beliefs on vulnerable patients.

And the floor to ceiling doors? Has that not been a widely acknowledged no-no for years? In restaurants, clubs etc etc, and especially in hospitals? (I write as someone who many years ago collapsed in a toilet in an A&E, in a serious potentially life-threatening condition, and was rescued from it after someone looked under the door).

As well as a formal complaint to the Trust which runs the hospital, do alert the CQC as well.

Men got the "lifesaver" outward doors as if they are installed on all the doors they are a hazard to people using the ones nearest the door.

OP take a picture of the air venting in each individual unit. As air exchanges would be an issue in a small room

Plus the seat is black which makes to harder to check if it is clean or not.

I wonder if the person you put the signs on the individual doors was actually a qualified architect. No thought whatsoever has gone in to it.

Really can’t see an issue. The cubicles have full doors. I wouldn’t be bothered by men washing their hands.