Trust to axe hospital window cleaning

By Tristan Kirk


A LOCAL hospital will not be cleaning its windows this year in a bid to save money.

The North West Hospitals NHS Trust plans to save £80,000 this year by cutting window cleaning services at Northwick Park Hospital, in Northwick Park. It wants to use money to improve services at the hospital.

Sarah McKellar, spokesman for the trust, said: "The design of the building and the sheer number of windows means that to clean them all would cost the trust in the region of £80,000. We have decided that this money would be better invested in patient care which needs to take priority at this time.
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"The trust is committed to improving the environment for patients, visitors and staff at Northwick Park Hospital.

We recognise there is still more to do and this includes cleaning all the windows at the hospital."

This saving is part of a £21million savings package, announced at the trust's annual general meeting on Wednesday, September 26.

Margaret Ashworth, director of finance for the trust, said: "We are not cutting services, we are not putting patient care at risk. No one here would do anything that would be to the detriment of patients.

"What are doing is looking at improving the services on offer, and being more efficient in what we do."