MIXED-SEX wards still have not been entirely eliminated from York Hospital – nearly eight years after the Government pledged to scrap them.

On these wards, beds are separated either by partitions or bays with one wall missing – offering little privacy when people of the opposite gender walk past.

Men and women also have to share shower and bathroom facilities, although there are separate male and female toilets.

However, the hospital has no so-called Nightingale-style wards – with no divide between the beds – which still exist in one-in-six hospitals in England.

City of York councillor Sian Wiseman, a former nurse who sits on the hospital’s board of governors, said staff worked hard to maintain high standards of privacy and dignity for patients.

She said: “The policy in York is that mixed-sex wards don’t happen unless it’s absolutely necessary because there are no other beds.

“When they do happen, I know staff work very hard to preserve the patients’ privacy.

“The reason mixed-sex wards occur is because of the demand on beds and as we all know, bed occupancy at York Hospital is in the region of the upper 90 per cent, especially in the winter.

“In other hospitals, you do hear horrific stories of 19-year-old girls being put in wards with all men.

“That is completely unacceptable and the reason we have such situations is because the Labour Party has not done what it promised it was going to do in getting rid of mixed-sex wards.”

Libby McManus, chief nurse for York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said within mixed-sex wards, they provided single sex bays, with appropriate toilet and wash facilities – all in line with national practice and guidance.

She said: “Our most challenging area is our acute assessment unit (AMU).

“Here, the requirement for emergency treatment can take priority over the need for segregation.

“Nonetheless, some attempt at segregation is always made, but given activity and capacity pressures this is not always possible.

“It is also logistically difficult from a nursing perspective, as managing beds on a daily basis dependent on gender could occupy valuable nursing time which could be better used for care.”

She said it was a future aim to be able to offer patients as much choice as possible, including the provision of more single en-suite facilities.