Declarations

Safe, high quality, responsible care

Our vision is to ensure that people have the best possible experience whilst under our care and that our staff have the best possible experience of working here. We expect the highest standards of care and commitment from our staff. If you use our services you have the right to expect a positive and safe experience from the very first moment you come to us and throughout your time in our care. As an organisation, we are committed to ethical ways of working that support the local communities we serve.

The quality and safety of our services is monitored by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). You can view the declarations we have made to the CQC below.

Our service standards

Safe staffing levels

Having the right numbers of staff is an important part of providing safe, high quality care that helps people recover. We use e-rostering to help our matrons and senior nurses manage our staff and resources.

Everyone’s needs are unique. Someone with mental health problems may be experiencing a complex mix of conditions and challenges, including acute physical illness. We regularly assess our wards so that we can adjust our staffing levels according to the needs of the people in our care and we review our overall staffing levels twice a year. We encourage staff to raise any concerns they may have and have put processes in place to support them if they want to do this.

Find out more about staffing levels within our inpatient services.

Quality report

Our annual review helps us to look back over the last 12 months and see where we have made improvements for people who use our services and their carers. It also helps us identify the areas where we have more to do.

Our full quality report looks at this in more detail and is available from the NHS website.

Declarations

Privacy and dignity - eliminating mixed sex accommodation

You have the right to receive high quality care that is safe, effective and respects your privacy and dignity. We will do everything we can to make sure you have the best possible experience whilst you receive treatment and we know that providing same sex accommodation will help to safeguard your privacy and dignity whilst you are with us.

For us to say that we provide same sex accommodation we must offer sleeping areas and toilet and washing areas that are for men and women only, and these must be clearly labelled.

Same sex accommodation can be provided in:

same sex wards which are all male or all female;
single rooms with access to gender specific toilet and washing facilities; or
mixed wards where men and women are in separate bays or rooms but have access to gender specific toilet and washing facilities.

People tell us that being in same sex accommodation makes a big difference to how comfortable and relaxed they feel. Sharing accommodation with people of the opposite sex can compromise their privacy and dignity at a time when they are already feeling vulnerable. Some patients find it embarrassing to share mixed sex accommodation and there may also be religious or cultural reasons for not wishing to do so.

We are working hard to upgrade the facilities at our inpatient units and have taken a number of steps to ensure that the safety and dignity of patients is preserved. We have already designated a number of wards as single sex. This means that we are now admitting men only or women only to particular wards.

Our staff are also receiving additional training about same sex accommodation and the importance of preserving the privacy and dignity of patients.

We have a Delivery Plan in place which sets out what we need to do, how we’re going to do it and when. In the meantime we are doing everything we can to minimise the use of mixed-sex accommodation whilst changes are being made.

Privacy and dignity: eliminating mixed sex accommodation leaflet

Safeguarding children

We are required by Monitor (the independent regulator of Foundation Trusts) to publish a declaration that the organisation has robust arrangements in place for safeguarding children.

Safeguarding children declaration

Safeguarding children policy

Modern Slavery

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for 2019/20:

Modern slavery is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation. Individuals may be trafficked into, out of or within the UK, and they may be trafficked for a number of reasons including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and organ harvesting.

The Home Office estimates there are 13,000 victims and survivors of modern slavery in the UK; 55% of these are female and 35% of all victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust incorporates clauses within our terms and conditions (with suppliers) to ensure that modern slavery, i.e. slavery and human trafficking, is not taking place in any part of our business or our supply chains.

The aim of this statement is to demonstrate the Trust follows good practice and all reasonable steps are taken to prevent slavery and human trafficking. All members of staff have a personal responsibility for the successful prevention of slavery and human trafficking with the procurement department taking responsibility lead for compliance in the supply chain. The Trust has considered and approved this statement and will continue to support the requirements of the legislation.