25.04.16
Mixed sex breaches by trusts increase by nearly two-thirds in one year
Unjustified incidents of NHS patients being forced to share hospital sleeping accommodation with people of the opposite gender have increased by 63% since this time last year.
The latest NHS figures show a reported 753 mixed sex breaches in March 2016, a significant increase from 581 last month and 279 in March 2015.
The figures also show the south of England commissioning region had by far the biggest number of breaches, with 435 or 1.1 per 1,000 consultant episodes.
There were 122 incidents in London (0.5 breach rate), 108 in the north (0.2 breach rate) and 88 in the Midlands and east (0.2 breach rate).
The March 2015 data is divided by individual areas but shows the problem persists in the same areas, with the regions with the biggest number of breaches being Kent and Medway (66), London (49) and west Yorkshire and Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire (35 each).
The NHS’s performance figures also recently showed that February 2016 was its worst month ever for meeting A&E targets.
UPDATE 26 April 11.30am
An NHS England spokesperson said:
“The number of mixed sex accommodation breaches has fallen over the last few years from around 12,000 per month in 2010 to 753 in March this year. However, there was an increase recorded this month which can be attributed to short term operational pressures.
“Since April 2011, hospitals have had to report publicly on the number of times they breach mixed-sex accommodation guidance. Hospitals can face fines of £250 per patient, per day where they fail to live up to this expectation."