ANGER is mounting over the use of a mixed-sex ward at Hereford County Hospital.

The practice, revealed in the Evening News three weeks ago, has been described as a "shameful affront to dignity".

Herefordshire Community Health Council complained to Hereford Hospitals Trust after 22 male and female patients were moved from the Age Care Unit at the General Hospital to Monnow Ward at the County.

One woman described the embarrassment experienced by her father, a stroke patient.

"With no time for a nurse to take him to the toilet, he was sat behind the bed curtains on a commode and told loud and clear to 'tuck those bits and pieces in'," she said.

Another woman complained of the distress of an elderly female patient opposite a man who exposed himself.

"How can she get better under such circumstances?" she asked.

Herefordshire Community Health Council is due to discuss the row at a meeting on Tuesday.

The response from the trust, which last month described the move as "temporary" and had pledged not to use mixed wards at the new hospital, is on the agenda.