Tory pledge in pieces as MORE patients put in mixed wards
455% rise in incidents of the sexes sharing wards has broken Tory vows
Staff often face a stark choice, a mixed-ward bed or no bed at all SARA GORTON ON CASH CRISIS IN NHS HOSPITALS
THE number of times men and women patients have shared wards has soared – leaving Tory promises to end the practice in tatters.
Mixed sex wards, which patients find humiliating and undignified, were banned eight years ago.
But Government figures show breaches of the ban at cash-starved NHS hospitals have increased 455% in two years. In 2015-16 it happened 2,655 times, rising to 7,756 a year later and rocketing to 14,737 by 2017-18.
The ban was lifted during the NHS meltdown in January when routine operations were also scrapped.
It meant the sick were put in available beds, even next to the opposite sex.
Shadow Health Minister Justin Madders said: “This is yet another broken Tory promise.
“These shocking revelations must spark urgent action from the new Secre- tary of State. Mixed sex wards are needlessly humiliating for patients and should be avoided.
“Labour will end this escalating scandal by properly funding our NHS.”
In 2015 the Tory’s election manifesto vowed to “continue to eliminate mixed- sex wards” and thenPrime Minister David Cameron boasted having “delivered” on his promise.
He said: “We said that we would sort out mixed-sex wards and hospitalacquired infections,” and added: “promise delivered”. Patient groups say mixed-sex wards deprive elderly, frail and vulnerable people of dignity.
There are also fears they leave patients more open to attack.
Sara Gorton, head of health for Unison, said: “It’s all very well for the Government to promise ‘no mixed-sex wards’ but staff are often left with the stark choice of a mixed-ward bed or no bed at all.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We’ve cut mixed sex accommodation breaches by nearly 90% since 2010 but men and women should not be forced to share hospital accommodation.
“We are supporting the small number of hospitals causing this issue to reduce their breaches as a matter of urgency”.