South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first hospital trust in the region to install sanitary bins in its male toilets.
The initiative, in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK’s Boys Need Bins campaign, aims to raise awareness for men suffering with incontinence.
The bins can be found in areas within The James Cook University Hospital and have already received positive feedback from staff and patients.
Sam Davison, clinical procurement specialist nurse, who was part of a wider team behind the roll out said: “The aim of the Boys Need Bins campaign really struck a chord that, as a hospital who performs prostate, bladder and colorectal surgery and radiotherapy procedures daily, we had never considered the lack of available resources for our patients.
“Female hygiene sanitary bins are a legal requirement, but we had never thought about the lack of provision in place in our male toilets.
The installation of the bins and accompanying information posters have been life-changing for our patients. They can now attend their hospital appointments comfortably knowing they have somewhere to safely dispose of their sanitary waste.”
Following the success of the pilot roll out, the trust plans to install more sanitary bins in male toilets across the organisation.
Nick Ridgman, head of health information and clinical support at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “When a man living with incontinence needs to go into hospital, he should only be thinking about getting better — not worrying about whether he’ll be able to get rid of his used pads privately and hygienically.
It is really important to us that South Tees has now introduced sanitary bins for patients and staff in its hospitals. As part of our Boys Need Bins campaign, we're doing everything we can to get the law changed so that every man in the UK always has access to a proper bin, but in the meantime it's exciting that real progress is happening in Teesside.”
More information
To find out more about the Boys Need Bins campaign, visit
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