Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital: Men and women 'shared wards due to bed shortages'
Men and women had to share wards at a Black Country hospital due to bed shortages, it has been revealed.
There were 26 'mixed sex breaches' recorded on 18 separate occasions at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital in January as the unit struggled to cope with the level of demand.
Health chiefs stressed there were no care or safety risks to patients as a result of putting men and women together.
The hospital is recovering from a hugely challenging winter which has seen record numbers filing into A&E.
Bed blocking has also been at an all-time high at Russells Hall.
Details of the breaches have been revealed in a board report of the Dudley Group NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.
It stated: "The trust recorded 26 cases of mixed sex breaches on 18 separate occasions in January due to the demand for inpatient beds.
"The committee had gained assurance that there had been no quality or safety of care issues and no risks to patients."
Bosses were forced to issue an urgent plea for people not to attend unless they had a serious condition over the Christmas period due to the extreme pressure on services.
Trust chief executive Diane Wake, who only took over the top role last week, said men and women are only put on the same wards when necessary.
She said: "The trust reported 26 breaches in January 2017 against the single-sex accommodation rules. Breaches occurred due to the demand for inpatient beds.
"We have the necessary facilities, resources and culture to ensure that patients who are admitted will only share the room where they sleep with members of the same sex, and same-sex toilets and bathrooms will be close to their bed area.
"Sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen when clinically necessary – for example where patients need specialist equipment such as in the critical care unit – or when there is a high demand for inpatient beds."
Pressure reached unprecedented levels at Russells Hall during the winter period.
Bosses were forced to issue a plea for people only to go into A&E if they had a serious condition, such were the levels of demand.
Hundreds more ambulances pulled up outside the hospital with patient arrivals as the NHS faced a national crisis.
New chief executive Ms Wake joins the trust as experts say the pressure should begin to ease heading into summer.
Ms Wake added: "Together with my executive team, we will ensure that hospital services continue to perform among the best in the country, and are sustainable longer term."
