Hospital laundry service to be closed

The move will affect hospitals in Doncaster, Worksop and Mexborough which are run by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

A spokesman for the trust said that, although 28 staff will be affected, there will be no redundancies as staff members currently working for the laundry service will be redeployed elsewhere.

Chief executive Ron Calvert said the decision was “difficult,”

He said: “Deciding to outsource any service is difficult, let alone one that staff feel passionately about.

“But the laundry on the Doncaster Royal Infirmary site needs investment of £2.2m to bring it up to 21st century standards. We can only spend the money once – we either invest in the laundry or in direct patient care.

“The board decided that our core business is providing health services, so we would let a laundry specialist provide our laundry and linen service.”

A spokesman for the hospital trust said that the move will save £472,000, as well as avoiding the £2.2m repair bill.

The spokesman said: “Some 28 staff will be affected but no redundancies are expected.

“Some staff will be retained to provide local distribution services and it is envisaged that the remaining staff will be redeployed in other areas of the organisation.

“A number of posts are filled by temporary staff so that there is scope for redeploying permanent staff in situations like this.”

Before making their decision at a meeting earlier this week, hospital board members considered a number options.

These were to do nothing; to keep the service in-house and spend £2.2m on improvements or to outsource the laundry service.

Board members then agreed on the final option, which had been recommended to them by staff.