Mixed-sex wards reach record low, says report

There were no cases of men and women being housed in the same ward at the hospital that now serves Rochdale - Royal Oldham Hospital - last month, according to new statistics.

This contributed to a record 23 health trusts across the region not breaching the rules banning mixed-sex wards.

According to the Department of Health there were only 22 cases of patients being ‘unjustifiably’ placed in mixed-sex wards in the region in August — compared with 2,783 in December 2010, when the data was first collected. Back then there were three breaches at the Oldham hospital.

Hospitals placing patients in mixed-sex wards face fines of £250 per patient per day for each case.