A new initiative has been launched to recruit more domestic staff across University Hospitals of Morecambe NHS Foundation Trust to ensure standards of cleanliness are of a high standard.
The Trust is now in the process of recruiting 64 additional domestics to join the UHMBT Domestic Team across the organisation, and ensure that infection prevention cleaning standards set by the Care Quality commission (CQC) are fully met.
So far eight new domestics have been recruited to work across UHMBT and the plan is to recruit thirteen more by March 2022.
New national standards of cleanliness were released earlier in 2021 which the Trust is required to meet. The standards demand that 50 elements plus touch-point cleaning are required. Recent CQC reports on Medical Unit 2 at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary have also highlighted a need for enhanced cleaning regimes.
In particular, the Domestic Team is aiming to recruit domestics who can work shifts to cover the gaps in service from 3pm to 5pm which are often harder to fill. The team will also be bringing in an 8am to 8pm cleaning service so there is always a domestic presence on the wards where practical.
Dave Passant, Divisional Facilities Manager for UHMBT, said: “We are confident that we will meet the new cleaning standards.
“The enhanced cleaning will make the environment more pleasant for patients and staff, and should also reduce the risks of hospital-acquire infections. It will make our sites safer for everyone, especially from an infection prevention perspective.
“Currently, cleaning is shared between nurses and domestic staff. For example, nurses will clean patient equipment including beds and domestic colleagues will clean touch-points, hard surfaces, floors, bathrooms and toilet areas.”
All of the new domestics will be given on-site orientation so they can see where they will be working and make a decision as to whether the job is something they want to pursue. In-house training will also be provided and they will receive a recognised qualification from the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICS).
Dave added: “A lot of domestics come to us and really like being part of the team. Some go on to be clinical support workers or move into other roles within the Trust so there are good opportunities for career progression.”
All UHMBT Domestic jobs can be viewed at http://uhmb.healthjobsuk.com/jobs_emp?emp=125 and at https://www.betterwithyou.co.uk/vacancies/