Swindon: Hospital's £600k cuts to cleaning

The Great Western Hospital in Swindon is to make £600,000 of cuts to its cleaning and catering service, reports the BBC.

Health workers' union Unison said the cuts would reduce standards and could lead to higher rates of hospital infections such as MRSA.

Joanne Kaye-Smith, of Unison, said: "These cuts cannot be justified."

"The government and the Department of Health say they are committed to improving the cleanliness of all our hospitals," she said.

But the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, claim the changes would not reduce the quality of cleaning or catering.

In a statement, the trust said: "It is part of our responsibility as a trust to get the best value for taxpayers' money that we can alongside providing quality patient care.

The Great Western Hospital has 464 in-patient beds, 87 day-care beds, 10 operating theatres, two maternity theatres and 3,500 staff.