Stafford Hospital still has mixed sex wards

Mixed-sex wards have still not been completely eliminated at Stafford Hospital, according to the chief executive of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Since the coalition Government came into power in May, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said bringing about the change to single sex wards was a priority despite patients' groups questioning how it could be fully achieved.

Although some progress has been made, Stafford Hospital's Acute Medical Unit and Acute Coronary Unit both still have some mixed-sex areas.

Last year the Mid Staffordshire Trust received a £100,000 cash boost to ensure facilities were brought up to scratch by 2011.

At the time, trust bosses said some of the cash would be spent on recruiting a lead nurse dedicated to championing patient privacy.

Earlier this year, the Express & Star reported how chief executive of the trust, Antony Sumara, had said that all wards and departments within the trust would be compliant by March 31.

The only wards exempt from the requirement to be same-sex are Accident and Emergency and Critical Care.

Mr Sumara said: "We are committed to providing every patient with same sex accommodation, because it helps to safeguard their privacy and dignity when they are often at their most vulnerable.

"Mixed sex accommodation has been virtually eliminated and in the last month we have made considerable progress towards achieving this in our Acute Medical Unit, which was one of the outstanding areas.

"Currently, sharing with members of the opposite sex will only happen in exceptional circumstances or where patients need specialist equipment such as in Critical Care or the Acute Coronary Unit.

"If patients are in mixed accommodation because of their clinical needs, we make every effort to inform them and listen to any concerns they may have.

"Patients are then moved into single sex accommodation as their condition allows."