News / Hospitals face no income for mixed sex wards

Hospitals that fail to treat patients in single sex accommodation will not be paid for their care from 2010/11, health secretary Alan Johnson has announced.

As part of a package of measures to eradicate mixed sex wards, which includes a £100m privacy and dignity fund, the health secretary said there would be financial penalties for treating patients in mixed accommodation unless this approach was clinically justified. Though the mechanism remained unclear, it is understood that intensive care and A&E will be excluded from the penalties.

‘The message is clear: the NHS has taken great strides in reducing mixed sex accommodation over the past 12 years but now it must eliminate it altogether other than where clinically necessary,’ Mr Johnson told a meeting of NHS chairs last month.

‘Hospitals who fail in their duty to protect patients’ privacy will be financially penalised as we will not foot the bill for care that has taken place in mixed sex accommodation,’ he added.

He acknowledged this would create problems for some hospitals and pledged support in the form of the £100m fund, which would allow swift adjustments to accommodation, and improvement teams that will go into hospitals over the next six months. There would also be more focus on measuring and improving patient experience of mixed sex accommodation.

Strategic health authorities will submit plans by the end of February on how hospitals intend to reduce mixed sex accommodation. The privacy fund will be allocated to SHAs in April and the Department of Health expects work will begin on the wards by the end of June.