East of England ahead of rest with single-sex wards

Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health and MP for South Cambridgeshire, announced on Tuesday that the end of the year would be the deadline for single-sex accommodation to be introduced nationwide.

But NHS East of England ensured that all trusts in the region complied with the requirements by April 1.

NHS East of England worked with trusts on 154 separate schemes to ensure that male and female patients did not share sleeping areas, toilets or washing facilities.

Every one of the schemes has been successfully completed in the region, with improvement works ranging from new or refurbished toilets and bathrooms, women-only lounges, re-glazed windows with frosted glass, additional signage and new partitions and modesty curtains.

Work began in April 2009 and the majority of schemes were completed within nine months, well ahead of the April 2010 deadline.