Call goes out for cleaners at Preston and Chorley hospitals

The Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital have made an urgent appeal for cleaners to join the workforce at the two sites.
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Successful applicants will be added to the bank of casual staff on the hospitals’ books who can be called upon as and when they are needed.

Last month, the trust which runs the facilities advertised a series of vacancies for support workers – including cleaners – as part of its preparations for dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

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A total of 160 people applied in the space of a few days for the temporary roles, which also included drivers, porters and catering and laundry staff.

Cleaners are needed on a casual basis at both Preston and Chorley hospitalsCleaners are needed on a casual basis at both Preston and Chorley hospitals
Cleaners are needed on a casual basis at both Preston and Chorley hospitals

However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that not enough of the applicants were interested in the cleaning vacancies. The need for scrupulous ‘double cleaning’ during the Covid-19 outbreak has also meant that demand for the work has now increased.

In a video message on Twitter, Stefanie Johnson, resourcing manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We are really in need of domestic assistants at our hospitals – so if you know anybody who has got cleaning experience or if you yourself are interested, please [apply].

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“We really need people who can come in and hit the ground running and help us keep our hospitals as clean as possible – which has never been more important than it is right now.

“We will be doing video or telephone interviews as quickly as we can to get people into post.”

According to an advert on the NHS Jobs website, the interview process will begin as soon as applications are received.

The ideal candidates are described as being ”friendly, reliable, experienced and conscientious” and who will be willing to “[work] together as part of a whole team to ensure the best environment for our patients to receive their treatment”.

Anybody who is handed one of the roles will be given initial training and will be expected to show flexibility in the duties which they are prepared to undertake.

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