The national chair of the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals, Denise Foster, is calling for the introduction of nationally recognised qualifications and training standards for all NHS cleaning staff.
Currently no vocational qualifications are required to work as a cleaner in the NHS. Many hospital cleaners start work with little knowledge or understanding of the complex processes involved.
In a keynote speech delivered at the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals’ national conference, she commented: "It is my view that no one should be able to work in healthcare cleaning without first achieving some level of basic professional qualification. Only by introducing minimum standards of training and knowledge of infection prevention and hygiene control will the objective of driving up standards of cleanliness in our hospitals, clinics and care homes be achieved."
The comments come as AHCP seeks to revamp its own continuing education, training and development programmes to drive up skill levels in the sector and encourage more young people to choose healthcare cleaning as a career. One of AHCP's key objectives is to see the introduction of a nationally recognised qualification in professional healthcare cleaning.
