Sussex hospitals face being fined thousands of pounds a month under a government crackdown on mixed sex wards.
Hospital trusts will be penalised for breaching rules that forbid forcing male and female patients to sleep in the same bays, incurring fines of £250 per patient each day from April.
That would have seen Sussex hospitals fined at least £116,250 last month alone, according to Department of Health records.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley published figures showing 465 patients in Sussex were placed in mixed sex accommodation in December.
The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton reported 362 breaches while Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath had 60, Eastbourne District General Hospital had 26 and the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards had 17.
Worthing Hospital and St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester did not report any breaches.
The bill for overcrowded hospitals could run to tens of thousands each month. The Government said the money would be reinvested into patient care.
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