One-fifth of patients STILL forced to stay on mixed sex wards

It also found that one-third of patients still have to share showers and bathrooms with members of the opposite sex.

The independent study by the Healthcare Commission also found many patients struggle to get help eating their meals.

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The cleanliness of hospitals remains another major concern.

The findings of the annual study are published today in the wake of the Government's fudged promises to ban mixed-sex wards by introducing the concept of 'mixed-sex accommodation', which can mean single-sex bays on a mixed-sex ward.

Michael Summers, vice-chairman of the Patients' Association, said: "We are very disappointed about patients still having to sleep in mixed-sex wards and share bathrooms despite being long assured by the Government that their abolition was a priority.

"It's completely unacceptable in the 21st century. It's completely lacking in respect for vulnerable elderly patients and is the area of NHS care we receive most complaints about."

Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: "Tony Blair said in 1997 that sorting out mixed-sex wards was a matter of political will.

"Labour's record shows they've completely lacked the political will to give patients the privacy they deserve."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb added: "The report highlights Labour's failure to provide patients with dignity when it comes to issues such as mixed-sex wards. Choice is also exposed as an illusion for the majority of patients."

Today's figures, drawn from the experiences of 75,000 adult patients who stayed at least one night in hospital in England last autumn, have enabled the commission to allocate scores to 165 hospital trusts.

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Patients can now compare hospital food, cleanliness and whether they were treated with dignity and respect.

Those rating their care as "excellent" rose from 41 per cent in the 2006 survey to 42 per cent last year.

Around a quarter reported being in a mixed-sex ward when first admitted to hospital and 18 per cent when they moved wards. Altogether, 30 per cent shared washing facilities.

The number of patients who reported their hospital to be 'very clean' fell from 56 per cent in 2002 to 53 per cent in 2007.

There was also a drop in the number who believed doctors and nurses washed their hands between patients.

At the worst performing trust, a quarter of those asked said they thought doctors did not wash their hands after examinations.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said its survey showed some hospitals were "struggling" to deliver some of the basics of patient care.

Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association consultants' committee, said: "It is positive that improvements are being made though there is still more that could be done.

"We now have to encourage the less well-performing trusts to learn from the top scoring hospitals so that all patients can have a positive experience.

"Empowering clinicians locally, removing the perversions of the target culture and delivering real partnership working with patients is the way to ensure the highest quality care for all."

Health Minister Ann Keen said the survey showed 90 per cent of patients admitted to hospital for planned care stayed in single-sex accommodation.

She added: "However, the wide variation in patient experience across the NHS is unacceptable. Where trusts know that they have more to do, we have asked them to set specific local improvement goals.

"The NHS should be in no doubt about how seriously we take this issue. We expect to see significant improvements in 2008's patient survey results."