The government has not yet honoured Labour's manifesto pledges of 1997 and 2001 to eliminate mixed-sex sleeping accommodation in NHS hospitals, Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, admitted yesterday.

Responding to complaints from women who were sexually assaulted or harassed by men in nearby beds, she said: "Ideally wards should be single sex. I've spoken to the strategic health authorities about this, and they are as upset as I am. I have asked them to check out what's happening."

In a few hospitals it was not possible to divide old wards into single-sex accommodation, she said, and designating single-sex wards meant creating two waiting lists. "If you only had spaces on a men's ward then you wouldn't be able to admit a woman," she told GMTV.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, responded by quoting Tony Blair's strong condemnation of mixed-sex wards while leader of the opposition in 1996. Mr Blair asked John Major, then prime minister, why he had not yet fulfilled a promise given in 1994 to eliminate mixed-sex wards and questioned his political will to solve the problem.

Mr Lansley said Mr Blair had shown a similar lack of political will.

Ms Hewitt said most hospitals now have single-sex accommodation but "it's clearly not happening everywhere".

The Department of Health said it knew of seven hospital trusts in England that did not comply with guidelines on single-sex accommodation. Rosie Winterton, the health minister, said some trusts lacked single-sex wards but were building new hospitals that would include them.