This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Patients in mixed-sex wards on the rise
Statistics from NHS England show that the number of patients placed in mixed-sex wards in England has risen by almost 70 per cent in the last year.
Despite a £250 fine to eradicate the problem, introduced in April 2011, the figures show that 7,163 patients were put in the wards in 2016, a ‘concerning’ increase on the 4,248 figure from 2015.
A breach in rules, which prompts a fine, is counted as soon as a patient is placed in a mixed-sex ward and does not depend on how long they stay there. Single-sex accommodation means patients sharing sleeping, bathroom and toilet facilities only with people of the same sex.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, emphasised that single-sex wards are an ‘important component of preserving patient dignity’ in hospitals and warned that the ‘sharp increase’ in patients on mixed-sex wards was ‘really concerning’.
As a result of overwhelming pressures on the health service, Dr Jacqueline McKenna, director of nursing and professional leadership at NHS Improvement, stated that there was ‘no alternative’.
She said: “This includes situations where patients need urgent, highly specialised or high-tech care such as in intensive care units. When making this decision, staff must make sure that it is in the interests of all patients affected and work to move patients into same-sex accommodation as quickly as possible.
"A small number of patients (especially children and young people) will actively choose to share with others of the same age or clinical condition, rather than gender.
"The aim of the NHS is to reduce mixed-sex accommodation and ensure privacy and dignity for all patients, but sometimes the need to treat has to take priority, particularly when hospitals are exceptionally busy."
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