August 16, 2010 10.38 am This story is over 166 months old

Lincoln County Hospital ahead of govt target to abolish mixed-sex wards by end of 2010

Hospital wards: The Lincoln County Hospital is already offering same-sex only wards, ahead of govt targets.

Government plans to abolish all mixed-sex wards in the country by the end of the year are already in place at the Lincoln County Hospital.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is planning to call an end to the operation of mixed-sex hospital accommodation this week, according to a Telegraph report.

The previous Labour government committed to the policy back in 1997, but it failed to completely abolish mixed-sex wards in the country.

Lansely’s plans to end most mixed-sex wards in England would apply to all wards, except for intensive care and A&E, by the end of 2010.

Lincoln hospital ahead of govt target

“All of the wards at Lincoln County Hospital currently offer only same-sex accommodation, meaning that we don’t currently have any mixed sex areas,” said Anna Temple, spokesperson for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

“We did a lot of work last year, with the help of £1 million of government funding, to make this possible,” Temple explained.

“This included the building of new bathroom facilities and the reorganisation of wards so that patients do not have to share any accommodation or bathrooms with patients of the opposite sex.”

County hospitals mixed-sex wards still in operation

There are still several hospitals across Lincolnshire that operate mixed-sex wards, according to United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s Quality Account for 2009/10 (PDF).

“We have been reviewing our patients’ views about their care and treatment in relation to same-sex accommodation and have identified this as a priority and opportunity for improvement in 2010/11,” the report states.

Photo: Graham Warsap