The number of patients treated in mixed-sex hospital wards in England reached a record high last year, raising concerns about patient safety and privacy, particularly for women, according to data and reports reviewed by healthcare regulators. A total of 53,874 patients were placed in mixed-sex accommodation in 2025, more than doubling the 19,700 recorded in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has criticized NHS trusts and private healthcare providers for failing to protect women in such settings. Inspectors have reported cases where male patients undressed in front of female patients and highlighted the absence of gender-segregated toilet facilities in some hospitals. The regulator’s reports also pointed to inadequate safeguarding measures in mental health crisis centres and substance misuse services, where mixed-sex accommodation has exposed patients to increased risks.
A 2022 investigation by campaigners from the Women’s Rights Network uncovered thousands of reported rapes and sexual assaults within hospital settings. Mary Howden, who led the research, described the rise in mixed-sex accommodation as a serious safeguarding failure rather than a mere administrative issue, emphasizing the danger it posed to female patients. One notable case involved Alexis Quinn, a woman who said she was sexually assaulted multiple times while on a mixed-sex psychiatric ward in 2016. Quinn described the experience as overwhelmingly vulnerable and labeled the system a “recipe for disaster.”
The CQC’s April 2026 report on Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust cited five mixed-sex community mental health crisis facilities, known as The Havens, as failing to operate safely. Inspectors observed men and women sharing rooms separated only by curtains, with one male patient reportedly removing his clothes in a poorly ventilated space. Similar concerns were raised about Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s rehabilitation centre, where leaders were reprimanded for not properly investigating sexual safety allegations or alerting local safeguarding teams despite numerous incidents.
Private providers have also come under scrutiny. The CQC rated the Haynes Clinic, a private residential substance misuse service, as “inadequate” in March 2026, citing failures in protecting patient safety, including mixed-sex use of bathrooms and living quarters. In 2023, a separate substance misuse centre in Liverpool, We Do Recover CIC, was shut down and fined for operating unlawfully and falling short of basic safety standards.
Mixed-sex accommodation in NHS facilities has been discouraged since 2010, when government guidance banned it except in specific clinical circumstances, such as chemotherapy wards where patients may benefit from shared presence. Nevertheless, breaches of this guidance have persisted and increased in recent years.
The NHS responded to the concerns by reaffirming its commitment to providing same-sex accommodation whenever possible. A spokesperson acknowledged the trend of rising mixed-sex ward admissions as unacceptable and stated the intention to reverse it, emphasizing that mixed accommodation should occur only when clinically necessary. The CQC reiterated that all patients have the right to dignity, respect, and safety, urging healthcare providers to comply with legal and regulatory standards concerning mixed-sex environments.