Nil by mixed-sex wards as hospital hits its zero target
ONE year on from posting record high number of mixed-sex accommodation rule breaches, Burton’s Queen’s Hospital is now celebrating after reducing the figure to zero.
In January last year, the Mail reported that a major review had been launched into the issue at the Belvedere Road facility after it recorded 65 breaches that month, compared to none in the city of Derby.
However, the latest findings published by the Department of Health showed no breaches in January following just one breach in December and November.
This comes after improvements were made in the coronary care unit which saw single sex bays created and an increase in staff levels.
The changes were made to ensure male and female patients were nursed separately, maintaining their privacy and dignity and allowing the hospital trust to comply with national measures created for hospitals to monitor and deliver single sex accommodation.
Chief executive Helen Ashley said: “The trust has processes in place that are very effective in ensuring that such breaches are extremely rare.”
Chief Nurse Dawn Leese added: “Our priority is to provide the highest level of care to our patients and our clinical teams have a continued commitment to achieving 100 per cent compliance.
“Staff at the trust have worked extremely hard to reconfigure the wards to reduce the likelihood of any breaches.
“This is one of many steps we take to ensure that we protect privacy and dignity for the people under our care.”
The mixed-sex accommodation issue came under the spotlight after the coalition Government pledged in 2010 to end most mixed sex hospital accommodation in England.
It claimed tens of thousands of patients Nil by mixed-sex wards as hospital hits its zerotarget were still being placed in mixed sex wards or bays every year, without clinical justification.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he was determined to end the practice and has introduced new NHS sanctions.
The routine reporting of such breaches is now standard and hospitals face fines if they do not meet the standards.
