SWINDON hospital patients face being placed on mixed-sex wards, despite rules that slap NHS trusts with steep fines for the breaches.

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logged 120 unjustified mixed-sex accommodation breaches in the 12 months to April 2018, the latest NHS England figures show.

NHS rules require hospitals to care for patients on single-sex wards. Campaigners say it protects patients’ dignity. Breaching the rules results in the hospital being fined £250, although this was relaxed during the busy winter period.

GWH’s 120 breaches mean accountants could have faced a bill of up to £30,000 by the end of the year.

Managers at the hospital said the number of breaches had dropped significantly over last year. A spokeswoman said: “The majority of the cases we reported this year were from our day surgery unit. None of our patients slept in a bay next to someone of the opposite sex because they were in separate areas of the unit and the nurses’ station sat between the bays.

“These situations are no longer reported as breaches as they are classified - as per national guidance - as bathroom breaches because, although the patients aren’t next to each other, they may have to walk past a bay with a person of the opposite sex in to reach a bathroom.”

Campaign group The Patients Association said it is “concerned” about increasing numbers of rule breaches nationally.

Chairman Lucy Watson said it was “hugely important” for trusts to fully commit to providing appropriate care to their patients: “When people are admitted hospital they often feel very vulnerable. They are in a different environment to what they are used to, they may be seriously unwell, and many patients are frail and elderly.

“People don’t like to be seen in bed in general, especially while wearing a hospital gown. You may get elderly or confused people who get hot and throw their gowns off in their sleep.

“They are going to be much happier knowing that they did that in a room full of people of the same sex rather than the opposite. People need to feel that their privacy and dignity are being properly attended to.”

Across the country, breaches of the rules, which cover any instance in which a patient is admitted and placed on a bed or trolley, are on the increase. They more than doubled from 675 in April 2017 to 1,584 the following year.

Despite this national trend, more than half of all trusts in England recorded no breaches at all in the twelve months to April, while more than two thirds of mixed sex breaches last April occurred in the South East region alone.

The Patients Association said the regional imbalances showed some trusts had taken the issue more seriously than others.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The NHS was extremely busy over the winter period with added pressure from norovirus, flu and extreme weather, but despite this more than half of trusts have reported zero mixed sex accommodation breaches.

“The government remains committed to ensuring the highest levels of patient dignity and improving patient experiences."

What does Great Western Hospital say?

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "We’re aware of the numbers of breaches we have reported and our results over the past year have reduced significantly thanks to the hard work of staff. When we had mixed bays we ensured that we had full reports of why this happened so we could improve on the number of breaches we reported.

“Our reported cases have dropped significantly, with a mean number of breaches reported monthly since July now at two. We’re continuing to focus on making sure we keep our numbers as low as possible and as part of our 'End Pyjama Paralysis' work, patient dignity is a very high priority for us.

“The majority of the cases we reported this year were from our day surgery unit. None of our patients slept in a bay next to someone of the opposite sex because they were in separate areas of the unit and the nurses’ station sat between the bays. These situations are no longer reported as breaches as they are classified - as per national guidance - as bathroom breaches because, although the patients aren’t next to each other, they may have to walk past a bay with a person of the opposite sex in to reach a bathroom.”