County clear of mixed-sex wards (From Malvern Gazette)

County hospitals clear of mixed-sex wards

12:20pm Wednesday 27th February 2013 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

MIXED-sex wards have been eradicated in hospitals in Worcestershire, new figures have revealed.

The latest statistics published by the Department of Health show there was not a single incident of patients being placed in mixed-sex accommodation in Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital or Redditch Alexandra Hospital during January.

Since November 2010 the Government has been naming, shaming and fining hospitals if men and women are placed in mixed-sex accommodation, in a bid to protect patients’ dignity.

Back then the number of people placed in mixed-sex accommodation in the three hospitals, run by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, was 1,102.

Worcester’s MP Robin Walker welcomed the “fantastic news” the practice has been eradicated, adding that Worcester-shire has seen one of the sharpest declines in the country.

“When people are ill and feeling vulnerable the last thing they need is to feel like their privacy is being invaded,” he said. “It is most welcome that our hospitals have acted fast to improve the patient experience.”

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hos-pitals NHS Trust said: “We have worked hard to improve the privacy and dignity of our patients and we are delighted to have eradicated mixed-sex wards.”

The Government figures show that incidents of mixed-sex accommodation nationally across the NHS have fallen by 97 per cent since November 2010, from 11,802 to just 398 in the latest set of statistics.

Single-sex accommodation means patients of the same sex sharing sleeping, bathroom and toilet facilities, either in single rooms or single-sex wards.

Under national guidance, men and women must have separate bays or rooms if sharing a ward. Intensive care and A&E are exempt from the policy.