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UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, yesterday called for urgent meetings with health ministers to implement a recruitment drive for NHS cleaners.
The union welcomed the deep clean initiative announced last year but warned at the time that it should be used to “kick-start better routine day-to-day cleaning of hospital wards and departments.”
Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health said yesterday:
“The call today for sustained funding of day-to-day hospital cleaning from the Cleaning and Support Services Association mirrors UNISON’s own views on tackling infections.
“Last year we warned the Government that it needed to set recruitment targets for NHS cleaners to help stamp out infections such as MRSA and C Difficile.
“Today we are calling for a meeting between health ministers, UNISON and hospital cleaners to give them an insight into hospital cleaning on the front line.
“The Government has looked at the dangers of hospital acquired infections from all angles except for employing more cleaners. A recruitment drive with Government targets would speed up the urgently-needed return of cleaners to our hospitals, so that patients and the public see for themselves cleaner, safer wards.”
