HEALTH bosses in East Lancashire have reassured patients they are meeting set standards on providing patients with single-sex accommodation.

The vow comes after a Freedom of Information request from the Conservative party revealed that two-thirds of NHS trusts were failing on the issue.

The data comes after Health Secretary Alan Johnson said just a few weeks ago that mixed-sex accommodation in the NHS would be abolished within a year, adding the goal was within "touching distance".

But the Tory figures show two thirds of hospital trusts still failing to provide single-sex accommodation.

The Government's own guidance defines single-sex accomodation as single-sex bays with three solid walls where patients do not have to walk past opposite sex bays to get to toilet or washroom. Guidelines for the NHS published in December said bays should have three solid walls, with the fourth wall open or partially enclosed. Using curtains to separate men and women is not allowed under the guidelines.

The figures from the Conservatives show that one in seven trusts still place patients in bays without three solid walls.

But bosses from the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said it was not an issue for them.

Lynn Wissett, director of clinical care and governance at the trust said: "Patient privacy and dignity is paramount and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust complies with the nationally accepted standards for single sex accommodation.

"Following the publication of the NHS Chief Nursing Officer's report last year, we benchmarked ourselves against the report and developed an action plan which is monitored and audited each month.

"On extremely rare occasions, for example for clinical reasons or to ensure patient safety, it may be necessary to place a patient in a mixed area but if this were to happen an exception report would be required explaining the individual circumstances.

"There have been no such instances so far this year and this supports the view of the trust that patient privacy and dignity should be respected."