Declaration of compliance

Every patient has the right to receive high quality care that is safe, effective and respects their privacy and dignity.

North Bristol NHS Trust is committed to providing every patient with same sex accommodation. This helps to safeguard their privacy and dignity when they are often at their most vulnerable.

North Bristol NHS Trust is pleased to confirm that it has completed and maintained its plans to eliminate mixed sex accommodation where it is in the overall best interests of the patient, or reflects their personal choice’.

Our aim is to have the necessary facilities, resources and culture to ensure that admitted patients will only share the room where they sleep with members of the same sex, and same-sex toilets and bathrooms will be close to their bed area. With the opening of the new state-of-the art Brunel hospital facility, at Southmead Hospital Bristol, this means over 600 of the 1,000 beds at the Trust are single rooms with their own en-suite bathroom.

Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen when clinically necessary, for example the Intensive Care Unit.

What this mean for patients

Patients admitted to North Bristol NHS Trust can expect to find:

• The room where your bed is will only have patients of the same sex as you
• Your toilet and bathroom will be just for your gender, and will be close to your bed area.

It is possible that there will be both men and women patients on the ward, but they will not share your sleeping area. 

You may share some communal space, such as day rooms or dining rooms, and it is very likely that you will see both men and women patients as you move around the hospital (e.g. on your way to X-ray or the operating theatre).

Visitors of the opposite gender will come into the ward, and potentially where your bed is, and this may include patients visiting each other. It is almost certain that both male and female nurses, doctors and other staff will come into your bed area.

If you need help to use the toilet or take a bath (e.g. you need a hoist or special bath) then you may be taken to a "unisex" bathroom used by both men and women, but a member of staff will be with you, and other patients will not be in the bathroom at the same time.

We are also committed to ensuring all patients are treated as individuals and that all patients' privacy and dignity are maintained.

The NHS will not turn patients away just because a "right-sex" bed is not immediately available.

If you are suffering from any of the following, you should travel to the Emergency Department or call 999 for an ambulance straightaway:

• Loss of consciousness
• Heavy blood loss that cannot be stopped
• Persistent, severe chest pain
• Head injuries
• A suspected stroke or heart attack
• Severe breathing difficulties
• A deep wound, such as a stab wound

The Emergency Department and 999 are for life-threatening emergencies only. You should travel to the Emergency Department if you can. However, if someone is too ill, call 999 for an ambulance.

When you arrive at Southmead Emergency Department you will see the Triage Nurse, usually within 15 minutes of arrival.  The triage nurse will assess you to ensure you are at no immediate clinical risk.  Patients will be prioritised depending on how unwell they are.

After you have been triaged you will be seen by either a:

• Physiotherapy Practitioner
• Emergency Nurse Practitioner
• Advanced Nurse Practitioner
• Doctor – depending on your condition.

If the Triage nurse feels you need closer observation you will be transferred to our monitored area – the Emergency Department Observation Unit (EDOU).  

Our Physiotherapy Practitioners help restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. They are able to request X-rays, assess, examine and treat traumatic/acute injuries such as minor head, neck or back injuries, limb injuries, broken bones (fractures), dislocations, grazes, wounds and minor burns.
Emergency Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Nurse Practitioners can see, examine, treat and discharge patients with minor injuries and minor illnesses. They can also request investigations, such as X-rays.

Occasionally on weekends and evenings the Triage Nurse will refer you to the BrisDoc Out of Hours (OOH) GP service. If after assessment you are fit to be seen by an out of hours GP, you will be given an OOH appointment card and will be directed to the OOH GP at the Greenway Centre, Knowle West Health Park or Cossham Hospital. For more information on BrisDoc Out of Hours (OOH) GP service visit http://brisdoc.co.uk       

There is also a Minor Injury Unit based inside the Southmead Emergency Department which can treat both children and adults, meaning you may be directed there for treatment. 

Opening hours: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Location: Gate 35, Level 0, Brunel building, Southmead Hospital, Southmead Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS10 5NB.
Southmead Emergency Department has a dedicated car park accessible from Dorian Way, which works via automatic number plate recognition. Payment by credit card, notes or coins is required before you exit the car park.

Contact: Emergency Department, Gate 35 0117 4145100 or 0117 4145101

In a life-threatening emergency go to the Emergency Department or call 999.

The HM Treasury and North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) are committed to openness and transparency and below are the monthly listings of NBT's expenditure over £25,000.

The listings show the suppliers we work with. If we have an invoice that's over £25,000 and the cost has been split across a number of teams, these are listed as separate entries and the value is likely to be below £25,000.

This publication is in line with HM Government’s commitment to transparency in public sector expenditure, more details are available on the Data Gov website. 

Download information:

Adults

We diagnose and treat all benign and malignant tumours of the Central nervous system, including the Brain and spinal cord. The majority of Brain tumours that are referred to us turn out to be either Gliomas or metastases. The remainder comprise other rare malignant tumours of the brain and spinal cord, as well as benign tumours such as meningiomas. Tumours that are located in or near the base of skull are dealt with by a separate group of specialists and all such patients are discussed in the fortnightly Skull base MDT, before an appropriate decision is made. Tumours of the Pituitary gland, and Acoustic neuromas (otherwise known as Vestibular schwannomas) also fall within the remit of the skull base group, and a dedicated team of specialists with expertise in this area manage this group of patients.

For more information about each tumour group please follow the links below. Groups that have not been mentioned here may be very rare and suitability of treatment for such groups will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Every patient with a Central nervous system tumour referred to us is discussed at a Multi disciplinary meeting (which constitutes members according to NICE recommendations including Neurosurgeons, Neuroradiologists, Neuro-Oncologists (cancer specialists), Neurologists, Clinical Nurse specialists, Physiotherapists, Palliative care specialists and other Specialists like ENT surgeons, Maxillofacial surgeons and Endocrinologists where appropriate) which meets once a week for most tumours and once a month for skull base, Pituitary and Acoustic tumours.

Primary Intracranial Tumours

• Gliomas
  •  Astrocytoma
  • Oligodendroglioma 
• Ependymoma
• Meningiomas
• Pitiutary Adenoma
• Vestibular Schwannoma

 Secondary Intracranial Tumours

• Cerebral Metastases

Priorities for improvement

Every year the Trust sets priorities for improvement which are consulted upon internally and externally and represent areas where we would like to see significant improvement over the course of the year.  In the Quality Account we lay out how we have worked towards achieving them and the evidence we have to show our progress so far.

The priorities for 2023/24 were:

1. We will put patients at the core of our services, respecting their choice, decisions and voice whilst becoming a partner in the management of conditions.
2. We will support our patients to access timely, safe and effective care with the aim of minimising patient harm or poor experience as a result.
3. We will minimise patient harm whilst experiencing care and treatment within NBT services.
4. We will demonstrate a proactive and positive culture of safety based on openness and honesty, in which concerns about safety are listened to, safety events are investigated and reported thoroughly, and lessons are learned to continually identify and embed good practices.
5. We will make Maternity and Neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable.

In writing 

North Bristol NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
Southmead Hospital
Southmead Road
Westbury-on-Trym
Bristol
BS10 5NB

For general enquiries telephone switchboard on 0117 9505050

View a full list of Southmead Hospital telephone numbers. 

Cossham Hospital
Lodge Road
Kingswood
Bristol
BS15 1LF
Telephone: 0117 3408400

View a full list of Cossham Hospital telephone numbers. 

Bristol Centre for Enablement
Highwood Pavillions
Jupiter Road
Patchway
Bristol
BS34 5BW
Telephone: 0300 3000110

Frenchay
Frenchay Park Road
Frenchay
Bristol
BS16 1LE

For employment queries or current vacancies see our careers section. 

For advice, compliments and complaints email complaints@nbt.nhs.uk

For errors or omissions on this website please email nbtcommunications@nbt.nhs.uk