NHS laundry services could be cut across Scottish hospitals in an “unacceptable” cost-cutting exercise.
Labour demanded Health Secretary Jeane Freeman halts any proposals to cut more staff, raising fears over linen shortages and infection control.
Concerns deepened one year after a health board paper proposed merging functions including laundry at Scotland’s 14 health boards. There are currently eight NHS laundries.
Yesterday, it emerged a review is gaining pace in a plan to save up to £2.7 million a year in a “shared service”.
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.
“After 12 years in charge, the SNP’s mismanagement of the health service is having serious consequences for patients and NHS staff and health boards are warning they’ll struggle to cope this winter with rising demand.”
In February, the Record revealed NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde ran out of clean towels and bedding 31 times in three years.
Glasgow Royal Infirmary ran out 14 times and the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ran out 13 times. Shortages were also recorded at Gartnavel, Royal Alexandra and Dykebar.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran were the only other board to report any shortages over the same period.
Labour demanded improvements, linking concerns over clean bedding to potential infections.
The value of linen services was underlined last year when NHS Lanarkshire’s West of Scotland Laundry department won a gold award for promoting health and safety.
Staff numbers have fallen by nearly five per cent in Scotland over three years.
Numbers fell at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Glasgow, Highland, Lothian, Orkney, Shetland and Tayside. Numbers increased in Fife, Grampian, Lanarkshire and Western Isles.
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.
“In 2017, a National Laundry Production Strategy recommended looking at the sustainability of the eight mainland laundries.
“Various options will be considered before a final option is presented to ministers.”
