Lancashire Teaching Hospitals break single sex ward rule hundreds of times

New figures show the number of breaches across England has soared since the coronavirus pandemic began, with March seeing the second highest number since 2011-12. NHS England data shows a rule preventing different sexes from mixing on wards at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust was broken 207 times in the six months to March – though this was down from 371 times in the same period the year before.

In the six months to March 2019 before the pandemic, there were 444 breaches. 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 rule-breaking returned, there were 2,289 occurrences, while every month since this past December has topped 4,000.

“Mixed sex wards are an affront to patients' dignity"

The Patients Association said mixed-sex wards are "an affront to patients' dignity", claiming the stress they cause prohibits a strong recovery .Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, 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."

But at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the single-sex ward rule was broken 24 times in March. Given an estimated number of finished consultant episodes of 12,630 in the month, it meant the trust had a breach rate of approximately 1.9 per 1,000 treatments – down from 4.3 per 1,000 in March 2019.

An NHS spokesperson 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 spokesperson added: "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."

A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spokesperson said: “Instances of mixed-sex accommodation breaches have more than halved compared to pre-pandemic levels and we are committed to continuing to keep reducing these.

“The breaches that have occurred are specific to critical care and surgical enhanced care where patients meet the criteria to be moved onto a ward but a speciality bed may not be immediately available due to high occupancy, particularly in the winter months. In circumstances like this, patient safety is always the priority. Our estate is a limiting factor, which is why we are so delighted to now have certainty that we will have a brand-new hospital as part of the national New Hospitals Programme.”