9,000 patients suffer ‘indignity’ of mixed-sex wards

ALMOST 1,000 patients a month are on mixed-sex wards, despite repeated pledges to end the practice.

Official statistics show that the number of patients suffering the “indignity” of staying in mixed-sex wards rose to 908 last month.

Overall, 9,004 patients in England were forced to do so between August 2016 and July 2017 – a near trebling in two years and a 55 per cent rise in one year. The Conservatives had pledged in their 2010 and 2015 general election manifestos to end the practice but it was dropped from Tory policies in this year’s election.

Earlier this week, a report found that NHS patients are increasingly dissatisfied with the level of privacy afforded to them in hospital.

A patient-led study assessing the non-clinical aspect of NHS care shows that scores in the area of “privacy, dignity and well-being” have decreased by four per cent since 2014. Norman Lamb, the Lib Dem health spokesman, said: “Under Theresa May’s watch, we’ve seen a scandalous rise in the number of patients being forced to stay in mixed- sex wards.

“Men and women shouldn’t have to share hospital wards, it’s an affront to basic human dignity.

“It’s time to end the the continued underfunding of the NHS and care that is putting intolerable pressure on services and leading to these sorts of failures. The Government must recommit to closing mixed-sex wards instead of turning a blind eye.”

Figures published by NHS England show there were 9,004 mixed sex “breaches” in the last 12 months, including 908 in July. This compares to 5,830 for the same period in 2015-16 and just 3,309 in 2014-15.

Hospitals must now pay out up to £250 for every breach – one night spent on a mixed-sex ward.

Justin Madders, the Labour shadow health minister, said: “Theresa May’s first year as Prime Minister has been characterised by a collapse in patient standards, with hospitals bursting at the seams and wards overstretched.

“This unprecedented failure on mixed-sex wards has left thousands more patients humiliated and lacking the basic dignity and respect they expect when being treated in hospital.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: “Men and women shouldn’t be forced to share hospital accommodation. While this month has seen slight increases, since 2010 mixed-sex accommodation breaches are down from almost 12,000 a month to less than 1,000 in July this year.”

An NHS Improvement spokesman said: “While there are circumstances – such as the need to treat patients in an emergency – where patients might be in mixed wards or bays, the NHS is committed to continue to reduce the number of patients treated in mixedsex accommodation.”