Commenting on Government plans to fine hospitals that continue to put
patients in mixed-sex accommodation, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of
UNISON, said:
“Single sex accommodation is essential to give patients dignity and respect
while they are in hospital.
“However, the Tories are misleading the public by suggesting that they are
doing something new. The Labour Government provided significant sums of
money to tackle this issue. They also set up a monitoring group to oversee
progress, which included the Chief Nursing Officer. Hospitals were able to
apply for dedicated money to reconfigure wards and make the necessary
changes to ensure patients are treated in single sex accommodation.
“Most have already done this, except in specialist areas like intensive
care, recovery or A&E. Where breaches do occur, they are usually because of
a temporary increase in patients needing specific types of care. For
example, hospitals had a large number of people slipping on ice and snow
over the winter who needed specialist orthopaedic care
