Thursday 30 June 2022 02:03 AM NHS staff are told to change bedsheets only if it's essential amid hospitals ... trends now
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Hospital staff have been ordered to only change bed linen ‘if essential’ as the NHS is hit by a shortage of clean laundry.
The health service is facing a supply crisis which could have a ‘knock-on effect’ on bed numbers, industry leaders have warned.
An email seen by The Independent told staff at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust to ‘please follow good infection prevention and control practices, but only change linen if essential’.
David Stevens from the Textile Services Association, which represents laundry firms, said Brexit and the pandemic had caused labour shortages that were making it difficult to meet demand across the healthcare and hospitality sectors.
A spokesman for NHS London Procurement Partnership said it had seen ‘increased price demands...and a willingness from suppliers to walk away from contracts if these demands are not met’
David Stevens from the Textile Services Association said that immediately after the pandemic, there were 4,000 vacancies out of a total 24,000 laundry jobs in the UK
In an internal email circulated to staff last month at, One senior official last month told staff at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust that