Sutton hospital leading the way with same-sex wards

A rule preventing patients of different sexes from being treated on the same ward was not broken whatsoever at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs King’s Mill as well as Mansfield Community Hospital – over a six-month period, new figures reveal.

However, the number of breaches across England has soared since the coronavirus pandemic began, with March seeing the second-highest number since 2011-12.

The Patients Association said mixed-sex wards are “an affront to patients’ dignity”, claiming the stress they cause prohibits a strong recovery.

NHS England data shows a rule preventing different sexes from mixing on wards at SFH was not broken in the six months to March. There were also none in the same period the year before and in 2018-19, before the pandemic.

Nationally, there were almost 4,500 instances where mixed-sex rules were broken in March, the second-highest single month since 2011-12 and more than triple the 1,446 instances recorded in March 2019.

Recording breaches was suspended from March 2020 to September 2021 due to the pandemic, but when logging returned, there were 2,289 occurrences, while every month since December has topped 4,000.

Rachel Power, TPA chief executive, said: “Mixed-sex wards are an affront to patients’ dignity. No patient wants to receive intimate, personal care on a mixed-sex ward and it’s the sort of stress that doesn’t promote recovery.”

An NHS spokesman said: “Offering single-sex accommodation is a requirement under the NHS Standard Contract. Trusts across the country are taking action to reduce or eliminate unjustified breaches, which remain rare.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have been clear patients should not have to share sleeping accommodation with others of the opposite sex and should have access to segregated bathroom and toilet facilities and we expect NHS trusts to comply with these measures.”