Cleaners to be made redundant at hospital trust

A hospital is planning to make cleaners redundant as part of a cost saving programme.

The BBC has learned that cleaning staff at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) have been told 30 jobs are to go across the trusts two sites at Pembury and Maidstone.

The cuts are part of wider cost improvement programme at the trust to save more than £70m in 2025/26.

A spokesperson for MTW said that no final decisions had been made and that the trust was "committed to engaging with affected staff and unions throughout the process".

The redundancy plans have worried families who lost loved ones at the hospital 20 years ago.

At least 90 patients died at Maidstone Hospital between 2004 and 2006 in a C.difficile outbreak.

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea and can spread quickly in hospitals.

A report into the deaths cited a lack of cleanliness as a contributing factor to the outbreak.

One family member who's mother-in-law died during the C.Diff outbreak, told the BBC that cleaners were "vital" to maintain safety standards and to make them redundant was "scandalous".

UNISON regional manager Ryan Slaughter said: "Hospitals need more staff, not fewer workers, if delays and waits are to end.

"Cutting jobs and services will mean patients will have to wait longer to be seen and make staffing levels less safe.

He added that ministers needed to deal with the "recruitment and retention crisis in the health service".

A spokesperson for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: "We are currently reviewing services across the Trust in line with a national focus on treating more patients, improving efficiencies and ensuring long-term sustainability.

During this period, our priority remains the delivery of high quality care to the communities we serve and supporting our staff."

Hundreds of NHS workers across the south east are facing uncertainty over their jobs because of a planned reorganisation.

The government announced in March it wanted integrated care boards (ICBs) to halve their running costs.

ICB's are NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said the changes were part of a transformation plan to "tackle inefficiencies and drive up productivity in the NHS".

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