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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 396. doi: 10.1192/bjp.188.4.396-a
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Correspondence

Not all women fancy single-sex wards

V. Pemmaraju

Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham B15 2QZ, UK.

S. George and F. Oyebode

Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham, UK

Correspondence: E-mail: vinuthna{at}doctors.org.uk

Mezey et al (2005) discuss staff and patient perceptions of the safety of women in mixed-sex and single-sex medium secure units. In their conclusion, the authors ask ‘how much choice women should be allowed to exert over the type of setting [single-sex or mixed-sex wards] where they receive treatment’. On the basis of our own survey we can provide tentative answers to the related question of whether they want a choice, and, if so, what they would choose.

As part of a much larger study (in preparation), we conducted a survey of 50 in-patients (31 women) who were admitted to four mixed-sex acute psychiatric wards. We explored their ward milieu preferences: single-sex v. mixed-sex wards. The mean age of the sample was 39.5 years (s.d.=13.49) and the common diagnostic categories were schizophrenia (45%) and affective disorders (20%). Although 24 patients (48%) stated that they would like a choice in the type of ward they were admitted to, only 16 (32%) preferred single-sex wards to mixed-sex wards. A gender-wise analysis further showed that of the 16 who preferred single-sex wards, only 4 (25%) were women. The remainder of the female sample (27 out of 31) preferred mixed-sex wards. Of course, the reasons given for this choice were varied and complex.

Hence, our findings do not support the widely held belief that women often prefer single-sex wards. In view of the small sample size of our study, more work needs to be done on this subject before definitive conclusions are drawn.

REFERENCES

Mezey, G., Hassell, Y. & Bartlett, A. (2005) Safety of women in mixed-sex and single-sex medium secure units: staff and patient perceptions. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 579 –582.[Abstract/Free Full Text]





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