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Giving thanks this season


Delia Cannings, Chair of the British Cleaning Council (BCC), say that hospital staff facing winter pressures deserve the nation’s thanks.


Winter is the busiest time of the year for hospitals and their cleaning teams, working to protect the health of staff, patients and visitors.


Following last year when the healthcare sector suffered one of the worst years on record for winter pressure, the Government invested £200m to boost NHS resilience. Despite this, hospitals are


again under immense pressure this winter and for some NHS trusts the situation is worse than it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Towards the end of 2023, we saw an increase in seasonal illnesses like flu, norovirus, RSV and whooping cough, combined with a new COVID variant to create a wave of illness across the country, leading to a rise in patients being admitted to hospitals. During 2023, industrial action further exacerbated the problem leading to longer waiting lists and delays, leaving elderly and sicker patients even more vulnerable and patient health declining further.


The cost-of-living crisis has also had severe ramifications on winter pressures, according to a recent survey. The increase in energy costs is having an impact on the health of many vulnerable people: one in 11 adults have run out of food trying to juggle finances while almost a third of adults said that their mental health was in decline.


The rise in demands on A&E departments we traditionally see during Christmas and New Year has a knock-on effect into January and February. The increase in drinking during party season, more people travelling over the festive season or rushing to complete shopping and other tasks results in more admissions. The rain, winds, ice, sleet and snow of winter also increase the risks of road traffic accidents, slips and falls. As a result, hospitals are now full of patients and yet staff shortages remain throughout the NHS.


Hospitals stepped up their winter resilience plans incorporating the provision of extra beds, yet that still was not enough to cope in many hospitals. Patient flow is being


24 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING


seriously hampered by the lack of free beds in care homes and residential homes, meaning some patients who have recovered have nowhere to go.


With demand outweighing the availability of rapid response teams engaged and deployed to attend to incidents such as falls, some patients are waiting for hours to get medical support. We are seeing patients being treated on gurneys in corridors, where they sometimes stay in excess of 20 hours.


Cleaning teams struggle to gain access for cleaning because of the clutter of beds, leaving hygiene compromised and increasing the risk. Cleaning operatives in hospitals are our front line of defence and last line of resistance keeping hospitals clean and hygienic to prevent the further spread of illness. Without this invaluable, conscientious and diligent workforce battling the unseen menace of infection, the risks in hospitals would be significantly increased.


Cleaning staff make a major contribution to protecting the health of the nation – they are the guardians of high standards and without them, winter pressures in the NHS would be insurmountable.


I’d like to say a deep and sincere thank you to cleaning operatives, supervisors, managers and all those providing these vital cleaning services. I hope these words demonstrate why it is so essential that the recommendations in the report by the sector’s All Party Parliamentary Group, entitled ‘Embedding Effective Hygiene for a Resilient UK’, are accepted in full by the Government.


Please back the campaign for cleaning and hygiene to be made a national priority. Find out how to get involved by clicking here.


Achieving recognition for the vital work of cleaning staff and the importance of the cleaning and hygiene sector remains a key aim for the British Cleaning Council in 2024.


www.britishcleaningcouncil.org twitter.com/TomoCleaning


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