Five more hospitals have 'hidden' mixed-sex wards
An investigation by The Telegraph has discovered that five more hospitals have mixed-sex wards despite claiming that they do not, increasing the pressure on the Government to end the degrading practice.
Last week this newspaper published details of four similar hospitals with mixed wards, and exposed Labour's failure to honour its pledge to eliminate them. In the past seven days our investigation has uncovered a further five hospitals treating patients in mixed wards despite officially claiming to only have single-sex accommodation.
Labour first promised to close all mixed wards in 1997 and again in 2001 but so far three separate deadlines have been missed. The Government has claimed that mixed wards persist in older buildings awaiting refurbishment. Yet one of the five uncovered this week is Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which is one of the country's newest.
Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary and MP for South Cambridgeshire, which includes Addenbrooke's Hospital, said: "The target culture Labour have imposed on the NHS has meant that managers are obsessed with waiting times to the exclusion of patients' privacy and dignity."
Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust, which covers the Royal Sussex County Hospital, said it had no "official" mixed-sex wards. When confronted with our evidence, however, it admitted that it put men in beds next to women because of waiting list pressures.
Desmond Turner, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, said: "Patients should quite rightly be upset. The hospital does not have these wards as a policy but at the moment it clearly does happen."
The three other hospitals discovered to have mixed wards were the Queen Elizabeth II, in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex and the Darrent Valley Hospital, Dartford, Kent.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "In the National Health Service 99 per cent of hospitals provide single-sex accommodation.
In emergencies hospitals cannot turn patients away because they cannot guarantee them a bed alongside other patients of the same gender."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/20/nward20.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/02/20/ixportaltop.html
Last week this newspaper published details of four similar hospitals with mixed wards, and exposed Labour's failure to honour its pledge to eliminate them. In the past seven days our investigation has uncovered a further five hospitals treating patients in mixed wards despite officially claiming to only have single-sex accommodation.
Labour first promised to close all mixed wards in 1997 and again in 2001 but so far three separate deadlines have been missed. The Government has claimed that mixed wards persist in older buildings awaiting refurbishment. Yet one of the five uncovered this week is Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which is one of the country's newest.
Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary and MP for South Cambridgeshire, which includes Addenbrooke's Hospital, said: "The target culture Labour have imposed on the NHS has meant that managers are obsessed with waiting times to the exclusion of patients' privacy and dignity."
Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust, which covers the Royal Sussex County Hospital, said it had no "official" mixed-sex wards. When confronted with our evidence, however, it admitted that it put men in beds next to women because of waiting list pressures.
Desmond Turner, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, said: "Patients should quite rightly be upset. The hospital does not have these wards as a policy but at the moment it clearly does happen."
The three other hospitals discovered to have mixed wards were the Queen Elizabeth II, in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex and the Darrent Valley Hospital, Dartford, Kent.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "In the National Health Service 99 per cent of hospitals provide single-sex accommodation.
In emergencies hospitals cannot turn patients away because they cannot guarantee them a bed alongside other patients of the same gender."
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