UNISON Launches Blueprint For Round The Clock Hospital Cleaning, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 18 Apr 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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UNISON, the UK's largest public service union, is today calling for safe minimum staffing levels to be set for hospital cleaning, as an essential part of the fight against killer superbugs such as MRSA and C Difficile. The union is warning that to ensure hospitals are kept clean and infection free they need to employ 2 cleaners per shift for every 30 patients, from 8am to 9pm.

In addition, the union wants Clean Hospital Committees set up in every hospital across the UK to lead the fight against superbugs, made up of cleaners, domestic supervisors, nurses and managers.

Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health, said:

"We need to use the whole hospital team if we are going to fight off these superbugs. Cleaning staff are frustrated because they know which cleaning products are effective, what equipment they need, how many staff it takes to really clean a ward well- but they are rarely consulted or listened to.

"It should be a requirement that all NHS organisations have safe minimum staffing levels for their cleaning services that are based on quality, not cost and with staff receiving proper, up to date training and equipment. UNISON believes that you need a minimum of 2 cleaning staff per shift for every 30 patients from 8am till 9pm to keep patients safe and hospitals infection free.

"The deep-clean exercise was worthwhile but it has to be a starting point. We need regular targeted cleaning which would significantly cut the instances of MRSA. And patients have a right to expect hospitals to be clean, safe and hygienic."

Gill Malik, West Suffolk Hospital Trust, said:

"We have just three staff to cover two wards of 66 patients which is simply not enough to get the job done. We are so short staffed that when a cleaner has a day off there is no one to replace them and of course the standards fall.

Mary Locke, a ward housekeeper at Mosley Hall Hospital said:

"I was all in favour of the deep clean exercise but you've got to keep it up to scratch. The staff work hard but they are pushed already and you need more cleaners, with more training, to keep the wards clean."

Health workers at UNISON's annual health care conference in Manchester today voted in favour of a range of measures to tackle health care associated infections and improve hospital cleaning.

The conference is calling on the government to enforce its target of 85% bed occupancy. Occupancy rates are commonly in excess of 95% in many hospitals across the UK and contribute to the spread of superbugs.

Health workers also voted for:

- Better cleaning equipment to replace inferior or insufficient quantities of equipment because employers are more concerned with costs than quality.

- Better training for frontline cleaning staff leading to a recognised qualification to ensure staff are working to the best standards and feel rewarded for taking on responsibility.

- To redouble efforts to stop hospital cleaning services being privatised, to bring privatised services back in-house, and to ensure that all private contractors provide at least as good pay, training, equipment and working conditions as NHS employers.

UNISON