Removal Of Hospital Cleaning Specialistst Will Increase Hospital Aquired Infection Rates

Health workers have warned that patients at five hospitals in north-west England face more infections if a hospital trust requires porters to carry out specialist cleaning duties, reports this weekends TUC Risks newsletter.

Despite the fact that everyone knows that the lack of effective hospital cleaning regimes increases the raters of hospital aquired infections and illnesses which can then go on to kill patients, but depsite this NHS Trusts, the brainchild of Tony Blair when in government; seek further ways of implementing budget cuts by removing dedicated cleaning teams and replacing them with non-specialist cleaners.

TUC risks reports that in the case of the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, porters' job descriptions are due to change to include 'terminal cleans,' according to the GMB Union. These are deep cleaning operations of specific areas - including ones where there have been particular problems, such as highly infectious and potentially deadly MRSA.

The task is currently carried out by dedicated cleaning teams, the union said. GMB said under the planned changes porters will be expected take on this deep cleaning work and carry out their normal duties, which include lifting and moving patients - putting patients at greater risk of infection.

A consultation on the changes, which would see porters renamed as 'patient environmental assistants', largely ignored the union warnings, GMB said. A union request for information on any clinical and occupational health and safety risk assessments undertaken ahead of the move, due to take effect on 18 March, has not received a response from hospital management.

GMB Northern regional organiser Steve Gibbons said:

"Terminal cleaning is what happens when there has been an infection, and they want a deep clean. At the moment it is a separate job from portering. Management say it will hardly ever happen but once you mix the roles it becomes part of the job.

Forcing staff to change their roles in an ill-thought-out way does not fill the GMB with confidence that the trust is up to the challenges ahead."

Source: TUC risks / Unionsafety

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