NHS breaks mixed-sex wards rules 44,000 times in a year with patients at risk of humiliation and assault

The use of mixed-sex wards in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has risen to almost its highest level in a decade, according to official figures, with the government’s rules against the practice overwhelmed nearly 5,000 times in February alone. There are concerns that cases of patients feeling humiliated and at risk are increasing, with evidence of sexual assaults in mixed mental health wards. Critics point to government cuts as a major cause of the breaches.