Hospitals that treat patients in mixed sex accommodation will not be paid for their care, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced. These tough new penalties are part of a package of measures being introduced in a new drive to put an end to mixed sex accommodation and ensure it does not reappear.
The Department of Health’s guidance to Trusts is that men and women should not have to share sleeping accommodation or toilet facilities. From 2010/11 hospitals who fail to deliver this will face serious financial consequences – unless there is an overriding clinical justification. The Health Secretary also announced that a £100 million Privacy and Dignity Fund will be made available to support the NHS to make the necessary changes to virtually eliminate mixed sex accommodation. The package of measures includes:
• Financial penalties for those hospitals where patients are treated in mixed sex accommodation – unless it can be clinically justified.• A £100 million ring-fenced Privacy and Dignity Fund to help Trusts make swift adjustments to hospital accommodation. • Improvement teams will be set up to go into hospitals that need support over the next six months. • A greater focus on measuring and improving patient experience of mixed sex accommodation.
Chief nursing officer Christine Beasley said: “Hospital staff must realise that being cared for in mixed sex accommodation can be very upsetting for patients particularly those that feel very vulnerable such as the elderly. Doctors and nurses have a clear duty to make sure that hospital patients are cared for in an environment which meets their clinical needs, and ensures that their privacy and dignity is maintained. We hope that by all but eliminating mixed sex accommodation we can dramatically improve patient experience.”
