Andy welcomes Conservative Pledge to end Mixed Sex Wards

David Cameron supporting Andy's Campaign to end Mixed Sex Wards at the Royal Bolton Hospital

New figures reveal that Labour have not honoured their pledge to abolish mixed-sex wards in the NHS.

In April, the Labour Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, claimed the Government was within 'touching distance' of abolishing mixed-sex accommodation. But information from hospitals reveals that this is far from the reality.

  • Patients are still being treated on mixed-sex wards with little or no segregation - 15 per cent of hospital trusts still use mixed-sex nightingale-style wards

  • Patients are not being given segregated bathroom facilities - 28 per cent of hospital trusts and 29 per cent of mental health trusts do not provide segregated washing facilities for all patients  

  • There were more than 6,000 reports of patients being inappropriately accommodated

Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, stressed that patients should not have to suffer the indignity of being placed in accommodation that affords them too little privacy at such a sensitive time. 

"Despite hearing Labour Ministers make promise after to promise to end the scandal of mixed-sex wards, we have not seen the necessary action and they continue to blight our hospitals.  It has been a long list of promises made and broken."

Andrew promised that a Conservative Government would double the number of single rooms in NHS hospitals in order to end the scandal of mixed-sex wards and ensure patients are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Cllr Andy Morgan, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bolton South East, who has been campaigning for the past 2 years to end mixed sex wards at the RoyalBoltonHospital said "The Government should be ashamed of this broken manifesto pledge.” 

“It is completely inappropriate in this day an age both from a dignity and safety point of view but also culturally that some people are subjected to this sort of treatment.  I welcome Andrew Lansley’s pledge and look forwarded to finally ridding the Royal Bolton Hospital of its last few mixed sex wards and bays at the earliest opportunity."