Breaches of single-sex hospital ward rules more than treble since pandemic

The number of patients in NHS hospitals sleeping in mixed-sex wards has tripled since the pandemic began, according to recent figures. Despite a rule prohibiting mixed-sex wards, hospitals have broken it more than 25,000 times in the last six months, resulting in fines and concerns over patient dignity. The highest number of violations in a single month since 2011/12 was recorded in March, at 4,475. This breaches the NHS Standard Contract and the Department of Health and Social Care’s guidelines.