Dozens of hospital laundry jobs at risk in Fife and Dundee

EMPLOYMENT: Fate to be decided in new year in face of NHS cutbacks

Scottish Government ministers will decided the fate of scores of laundry workers in Dundee and Fife at the start of 2020.

NHS Scotland is currently reviewing the number of hospital laundries on the mainland. It currently has eight and is examining halving this number.

This means laundries could close at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital and at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, which employ around 70 between them.

NHS Scotland has a policy of no compulsory redundancies.

But it is not known if staff in laundries that are shut down will be transferred to another facility or be offered new roles within the NHS.

An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “The laundry service is currently under review and a final draft business case is expected in early 2020.”

There are 30 workers employed in the Ninewells laundry while around 40 people work in the Kirkcaldy washhouse.

The Fife facility is regarded as one of the best performing in the country, producing more than seven million articles a year.

Around £1 million was spent in 2013 replacing boilers and tumble driers to improve efficiency.

A spokesperson NHS National Services Scotland said: “The plan is to ensure the provision of a future laundry service for NHS Scotland that is efficient, effective and sustainable.”

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “Further cuts to NHS laundry services will be unacceptable.

“The health secretary should come clean over this move and say how many staff are facing redundancies and what she will do to respond to the risk of industrial action.

“Across Scotland we’ve seen hospitals running out of clean bed linen and towels too often as staffing levels go down and health boards struggle to balance the books.”

The review into NHS Scotland laundry services began in 2017.

The Scottish Government has said a number of options will be considered before final one is presented to ministers.

Other laundries under review 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.

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The health secretary should come clean over this move and say what she will do to respond to the risk of industrial action.

MONICA LENNON

Picture: Kim Cessford. Labour says hospitals have been running out of clean bed linen and towels.