Patients Remain on Mixed Wards in Six London Hospitals ; It’s a Good Day to Bury Bad News

SIX London hospitals have not yet abolished mixed-sex wards, health chiefs admitted today.

The strategic health authority for the capital named them as St George’s, Tooting, St Mary’s, Paddington, QueenMary’s, Sidcup, Queen Elizabeth, Woolwich, Bart’s and The London and North Middlesex, Edmonton.

In a move criticised for burying bad news on the day the Prime Minister announced he is stepping down, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt published a report listing 28 out of 172 NHS trusts being given help to segregate patients.

She admitted: “The failure to provide single-sex accommodation in some cases can cause great distress to patients.” Also among the 28 were Barking, Havering and Redbridge Trust, the Lewisham Hospital Trust and the Whittington Hospital Trust..

However NHS London said these had since opened new wards to solve the problems.

Other hospital trusts on the list in the South-East include Medway, Brighton and Sussex University, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Worthing and Southlands, Oxford Radcliffe and Buckinghamshire. It was not clear whether they had made any changes.

Ms Hewitt was accused by the Tories of seeking to bury bad news. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the study was released after a number of attempts by his party to obtain it under freedom of information laws.

He said: “Despite Government pledges on mixed-sex wards in 1997, in 2001, in 2005 and more recently in 2006, Labour have failed to help and listen to patients and NHS staff.” Labour’s 1997 election manifesto stated: “As part of our concern to ensure quality, we will work towards the elimination of mixed-sex wards.” Ministers insisted last year that internal surveys showed just one per cent of patients were in them.

However, they ordered the study, compiled by the chief nursing officer Christine Beasley, following reports from patients and the Healthcare Commission watchdog which cast this claim into doubt.

Professor Beasley concluded that single-sex wards should be standard for booked patients and the ideal for unscheduled treatment.

She added: “For some patients, mixed-sex accommodation is not a problem but for many it is a source of real distress.

“We need to acknowledge this and work to eliminate it in all but the most unusual of circumstances. But we also need to be realistic that sometimes mixing of patients will occur, such as in highly specialised departments where the need to admit a patient for care takes priority over the need for segregation.

“Nonetheless, some attempt at segregation should always be made.” Guidelines allow hospital bosses to say patients are being treated in single-sex areas provided there are fixed partitions.

However, Katherine Murphy of the Patients’ Association said a succession of ministers has broken promises to end mixed-sex wards over the past 10 years.

She added: “In November, Ms Hewitt publicly stated that good progress was being made. She was clearly misinformed by her staff.

“Today, with the findings of the chief nursing officer’s report, the truth about mixed sex wards is now evident to all.”

SIX London hospitals have not yet abolished mixed-sex wards, health chiefs admitted today.

The strategic health authority for the capital named them as St George’s, Tooting, St Mary’s, Paddington, Queen Mary’s, Sidcup, Queen Elizabeth, Woolwich, Bart’s and The London and North Middlesex, Edmonton.

In a move criticised for burying bad news on the day the Prime Minister announced he is stepping down, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt published a report listing 28 out of 172 NHS trusts being given help to segregate patients.

She admitted: “The failure to provide single-sex accommodation in some cases can cause great distress to patients.” Also among the 28 were Barking, Havering and Redbridge Trust, the Lewisham Hospital Trust and the Whittington Hospital Trust..

However NHS London said these had since opened new wards to solve the problems.

Other hospital trusts on the list in the South-East include Medway, Brighton and Sussex University, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Worthing and Southlands, Oxford Radcliffe and Buckinghamshire. It was not clear whether they had made any changes.

Ms Hewitt was accused by the Tories of seeking to bury bad news. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the study was released after a number of attempts by his party to obtain it under freedom of information laws.

He said: “Despite Government pledges on mixed-sex wards in 1997, in 2001, in 2005 and more recently in 2006, Labour have failed to help and listen to patients and NHS staff.” Labour’s 1997 election manifesto stated: “As part of our concern to ensure quality, we will work towards the elimination of mixed-sex wards.” Ministers insisted last year that internal surveys showed just one per cent of patients were in them.

However, they ordered the study, compiled by the chief nursing officer Christine Beasley, following reports from patients and the Healthcare Commission watchdog which cast this claim into doubt.

Professor Beasley concluded that single-sex wards should be standard for booked patients and the ideal for unscheduled treatment.

She added: “For some patients, mixed-sex accommodation is not a problem but for many it is a source of real distress.

“We need to acknowledge this and work to eliminate it in all but the most unusual of circumstances. But we also need to be realistic that sometimes mixing of patients will occur, such as in highly specialised departments where the need toadmit a patient for care takes priority over the need for segregation.

“Nonetheless, some attempt at segregation should always be made.” Guidelines allow hospital bosses to say patients are being treated in single-sex areas provided there are fixed partitions.

However, Katherine Murphy of the Patients’ Association said a succession of ministers has broken promises to end mixed-sex wards over the past 10 years.

She added: “In November, Ms Hewitt publicly stated that good progress was being made. She was clearly misinformed by her staff.

“Today, with the findings of the chief nursing officer’s report, the truth about mixed sex wards is now evident to all.”

(c) 2007 Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.