Single sex wards prove challenge

Some intensive care and cancer units are too small to allow single sex use

Ensuring all hospital wards are single sex is proving a challenge for some primary care trusts, a report reveals.

The East of England NHS has set the objective of ensuring wards are single sex "to ensure privacy and dignity".

Suffolk Mental Health Trust is aiming to complete its compliance through a major building programme which will be finished by September 2008.

"Every primary care trust in the east aims to ensure privacy and dignity," an East of England NHS statement said.

"Those primary care trusts that currently commission services not fully mixed sex compliant have plans to resolve a small number of outstanding issues," it continued.

The East of England NHS works with 40 primary care trusts in the region, has a health budget of £7.1 bn and is responsible for over 5.4 million people.