Welsh Labour wants all hospital cleaning back in house

Link: ISSA News Detail.

All hospital cleaning in Wales will be carried out by NHS employees, rather than contractors, if Labour wins the Welsh Assembly elections in May. A report in this week's Western Mail claims that Welsh Labour Health Minister Brian Gibbons was about to reveal the new policy at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, where standards of hospital cleanliness have been singled out for praise in a report by the independent Health Inspectorate Wales. Wales is believed to have the lowest rates of MRSA in the United Kingdom, but Labour says it will further improve that position by guaranteeing that all cleaners working in Welsh hospitals will be employed by the health service, according to the publication. The Assembly Government has already changed the tendering rules, allowing a level playing field for in-house and commercial bids... all but one cleaning contract is now operated by the National Health Service, with the final contract also expected to return to the fold. Labour has indicated that if it wins the assembly election, it will not oblige trusts to go to tender again, making cleaners in the NHS a permanent feature.