The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Ninewells laundry may be all washed up under NHS Scotland review plans
CUTS: Industrial action fears over proposals to slash hospital laundries
Laundries at hospitals in Dundee and Kirkcaldy could be closed under plans being considered by NHS Scotland.
Health chiefs have drawn up proposals to slash the number of health board laundries on mainland Scotland from eight to four – and a business case could go before bosses next month.
Laundries at Ninewells and Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy are currently under review.
The others are at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, Borders General Hospital, St John’s Hospital in Livingston, the West of Scotland Laundry in Wishaw and Hillington Laundry in Glasgow.
Hundreds of staff are believed to work in the laundries, which play a vital role in preventing the spread of disease.
Local NHS boards have privately warned they expect that the cuts will trigger industrial action.
Last night, Scottish Labour’s shadow health secretary Monica Lennon urged ministers to “come clean over this move and say how many staff are facing redundancies”.
Proposals to cut the number of laundries have been discussed behindthe-scenes for several years, eventually leading to a strategy to move from eight to four.
Another option being considered is to keep four plus the Borders Laundry, because it generates commercial income.
Detailed plans have now been drawn up and NHS bosses believe it will save up to £2.7 million a year, which is around 12% of laundry operating costs.
The move is part of a “shared services” drive, which aims to save money and streamline services, but has also led to fears in recent years that local health boards could be scrapped and amalgamated into a handful of new “super boards”.
The NHS would not say how many staff worked at the laundries, only that “this will be collated and reviewed as part of the process informing the business case”.
A recently published minute from an August meeting of NHS Highland’s staff governance committee shows that its facilities lead, Alistair Wilson, said a business case to move from eight to four laundries would go to chief executives in November.
The minute said that Mr Wilson had spoken of “concern by some boards around industrial action by staff”.
A spokesman for NHS National Services Scotland said: “The National Laundry Programme Board is conducting a thorough analysis of laundry production unit functions.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “A review of laundry services across NHS Scotland is under way, with a view to developing a more efficient, safe and consistent operation.”