§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the Government have made in eliminating single sex wards; what plans he has to eliminate them; and if he will make a statement. [68536]
§ Mr. HuttonGuidance on maintaining privacy and dignity was first issued to the service in 1997 and since then the national health service has been working towards a clear target to provide single sex accommodation.
The target set is for three objectives to be achieved in 95 per cent. of trusts by December 2002.
The three objectives are:
Ensuring that appropriate organisational arrangements are in place to secure good standards of privacy and dignity for hospital patients;Achieving fully the Patient's Charter standard for segregated washing and toilet facilities across the NHS;Providing safe facilities for patients in hospital who are mentally ill which safeguard their privacy and dignity.Trusts are required to re-assess and report their position annually. This information has been collected through health authorities. Separate validation programmes are undertaken to ensure that information provided is robust and reliable.
We are working with the NHS to provide professional and technical support to ensure progress towards meeting this target continues.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names of mixed-sex wards in operation, broken down by region. [68529]
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§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is not available in this format as compliance is measured on a trust by trust basis and not at individual ward level.
The reasons for measuring at trust level is because hospital wards generally care for both men and women. To provide the required levels of privacy and dignity for patients, wards are split into single sex bays, or single rooms, or otherwise configured to provide adequate segregation of gender. It is the responsibility of each national health service trust to determine the most appropriate configuration to meet their specific requirements.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sexual harassment and sexual abuse cases there have been in(a) mixed-sex wards and (b) single sex wards, over the past five years. [68530]
§ Mr. HuttonWe do not collect this information centrally. Each national health service trust should ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place, covering staff as well as patients.