There seems to be conflicting information with The Department of Health attesting to the fact that 99% of wards are offering single-sex accommodation.
In sharp contrast are reports coming in from patient groups that are getting regular calls from patients complaining that mixed sex wards is very much a part of the hospital set-up.
The term 'mixed set ward' itself seems a point of debate with definitions differing. The Patients Asoociation, represented by Katherine Murphy and Andrew Lansley defend the right of a patient to reasonable privacy, particularly with the opposite sex.
According to the association, several senior citizens, numbering nearly 30 per month have been complaining of being housed in mixed set wards. Also, it is generally understood that mere partitioning of single sex bays on mixed set wards is not enough. It is considered intrusive if people of the opposite sex are walking past a patient's bed to visit the toilet.
All this clearly questions the government's commitment to have only single sex wards when it was voted to power in 1997.
The government has lost no time in explaining its stance and also offering to carry out corrective measures. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt was forthright in stating that though single-sex wards were more prevalent than before, there is still a lot of improvement to be achieved. She observed that patient feedback was at variance with information coming in from hospitals. As a immediate measure, surprise checks will be carried out by Strategic Health Authority.
On the other hand, she explained that single sex wards cannot be introduced in medical admission units where patients undergo preliminary/emergency assessment before doctors decide on the course of treatment. Quite simply, it will lead to more patient grievances with needy patients being turned away because a bed is not available in the same sex ward. Quite naturally, medical admissions will have to try and see each patient regardless of sex.
However, she said it was not feasible to expect hospitals to provide single sex facilities in a medical admissions unit, where doctors assess emergency cases before deciding what action to take.
Hewitt continues that single-sex wards are very much on the government's agenda as far as trust hospitals are concerned. It was now clear that more had to be done in this area. She also recognized the ineffectiveness of partitioning areas in single-sex wards.
Defending the existing system, Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 90% of NHS organisations, expressed that mixed sex wards exist in the senior citizen category to enable specialized care to groups of patients simultaneously. At the same time, hospitals are committed to providing single-sex bays within wards with separate toilet facilities.
