Lord Darzi, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and practising surgeon, has described single-sex wards in the NHS as "an aspiration that cannot be met."
Lord Darzi, who is conducting a review of the NHS in England, said the goal should be single-sex accommodation, with male and female bays divided by partitions.
Responding to the Government’s latest stance on mixed-sex wards, Dr. Peter Carter, RCN General Secretary, acknowledged that there had been some movement to reduce mixed-sex accommodation but called for further progress, saying: "Privacy and dignity should be at the forefront of the Government’s agenda. People already feel vulnerable when they enter hospital. Having to share a bathroom and other facilities with the opposite sex can simply compound these feelings, making their hospital stay even more difficult."
