Bedford Hospital and Luton & Dunstable Hospital broke single-sex ward rule dozens of times

A rule preventing patients of different sexes from being treated on the same ward was broken dozens of times at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust over a six-month period, new figures reveal.

But the trust – which runs Bedford Hospital and Luton & Dunstable Hospital – says this practice only ever happened based on a patient’s “clinical need” and it was discussed with them beforehand.

It comes as the number of breaches across England have soared since the coronavirus pandemic began, with March the second-highest number since 2011-12.

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

NHS England data shows a rule preventing different sexes from mixing on wards at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust was broken 29 times in the six months to March – up from 28 in the same period the year before.

In the six months to March 2019 before the pandemic, there were no breaches whatsoever.

Unfortunately, there is no further breakdown between the two hospitals – Bedford Hospital and Luton & Dunstable Hospital.

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “In line with the NHS Operating Framework we have established single-sex wards in both our hospitals.

“Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen by exception based on clinical need, for example where patients need specialist equipment such as in Critical Care Units.

“These statistics refer to a very small number of patients within our Critical Care Unit who are being stepped down from the unit and awaiting a bed in one of our wards.

“In these incidents the privacy and dignity of our patients is paramount and is always discussed with patients beforehand.”

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.

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."

At Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the single-sex ward rule was broken 10 times in March alone.

Given an estimated number of finished consultant episodes of 18,125 in the month, it meant the trust had a breach rate of approximately 0.6 per 1,000 treatments.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "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."

An NHS spokesperson said: "Trusts across the country are taking action to reduce or eliminate unjustified breaches, which remain rare."