Nearly half NHS trusts breaking mixed-sex ward rules

Data for March revealed 5,446 breaches of mixed-sex rules across England, down from 7,583 in February.

As of April 1, trusts are being fined £250 per patient per day for breaking rules on mixed-sex sleeping on wards.

The data for last month, from 287 providers of care, showed there are still thousands of breaches every month.

Of 146 NHS trusts, 48 per cent had sleeping breaches.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley introduced the fines last year after saying it was “unacceptable” for trusts to be breaching the rules.

The Government accused Labour of covering up previous data on mixed-sex accommodation and ordered action to stop it happening although it quickly dropped a pledge to build 45,000 new single rooms for patients in hospitals.

Mr Lansley said: “Labour covered up the scandal of mixed-sex accommodation. We are sorting it out.

“We exposed the problem by publishing this data and we are introducing fines from this month to help prevent breaches in the future.

“Progress still needs to be made but the overall reduction is encouraging. A transparent NHS is a better NHS for everyone.”

Figures show there were 213 breaches of the rules in Yorkshire in March, down from 256 in February and 238 in January although it is higher than the 180 in December.

The number of breaches in Yorkshire was the second lowest of any region in England last month.

Shadow Health Secretary John Healey said it was important that progress made under Labour’s privacy and dignity fund to reduce use of mixed-sex accommodation was maintained.

But he claimed standards elsewhere in the NHS were “once again falling under the Tories” after a report by the independent King’s Fund think-tank this week showed thAT waiting times were at their highest level for three years.

Nearly 15 per cent of hospital inpatients waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment in February in the wake of a decision by the coalition to relax the target.

“David Cameron should stop his wasteful reorganisation of the NHS and reinstate Labour’s guarantees on waiting times before our health service slips back any further,” he said.