Cleaning levels at the recently opened €9.5 million Radiology Department at Letterkenny University Hospital are well below the normal levels, the hospital has admitted.
The department was opened six weeks ago.
However, because of a number of retirements of cleaning staff, the hygiene levels at the Radiology Department are falling short.
The admission by Saolta, the group which oversees the running of the hospital, comes following concerns raised by staff to Donegal Daily.
A staff member said the overall cleaning service at the hospital is suffering because of a lack of staff and the recruitment moratorium put in place by the HSE.
On Monday last the staff member claimed that the Radiology Department had not been cleaned since it was opened in August.
However, Salta said that it was incorrect to say “there has been no cleaning in the Radiology Department since it has opened.”
However, when contacted again, the hospital employee said that this had been the case until Tuesday of this week, after the initial query by Donegal Daily, when the floor of the Radiology Department was mopped.
The spokesperson for Saolta said “The hospital acknowledges that the level of cleaning has fallen significantly short of the normal coverage due to a temporary shortfall in staff following number of recent retirements.
“This is being addressed by reassigning domestic staff from other departments. LUH is seeking HSE approval to recruit domestic staff to replace the retirees.”
The spokesperson added that staff who have concerns about cleaning should notify their line managers so that any issues may be dealt with promptly.
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