Affiliation:
1. Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
2. St George's University of London
Abstract
Mixed-sex wards in adult forensic secure services have been abolished and replaced by single-sex services. The National Secure Forensic Service for Young People (NSFSYP) continues to use a mixture of single-sex male and mixed-sex wards. This study aimed to explore staff experiences and attitudes towards placing young people in mixed- or single-sex wards in the NSFSYP. Mixed methodology was adopted in the form of focus groups (qualitative) and questionnaires (semi-quantitative). Content analyses of the qualitative data revealed five themes: care of female patients, normalization, safety, commissioning and social representation of women. The questionnaire was developed from the qualitative findings and comprised 22 statements measuring attitudes towards mixed- and single-sex wards. One hundred and forty-five questionnaires were returned: a 44% total response rate. Overall, the responses to the questionnaire confirmed the focus group data. There were statistically significant differences in responses between staff working on mixed- and single-sex wards. Staff working on mixed-sex wards felt that mixing genders on wards is a crucial part of adolescent forensic inpatient treatment. For them, mixed wards provide a more developmentally appropriate environment for young people. The needs of female patients broaden the debate beyond segregating and mixing gender.
Subject
Law,Health Policy,Issues, ethics and legal aspects
Cited by
3 articles.
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