Paramedics are fearful about a decision made by emergency service chiefs to end the trust's ambulance cleaning contract. The decision has workers worried they will be delayed from responding to 999 calls as they will have to clean the vehicles themselves after dropping off patients at the hospital.
A letter from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) bosses to staff was leaked to the Manchester Evening News. It states it will bring an end to the clean provision in place since the start of the pandemic, with the trust saying the external cleaning company is 'unaffordable' at more than '£3 million per year'.
Brought in 'at the height of the pandemic to increase crew availability and improve cleanliness', an ambulance would arrive at the hospital and while paramedics transported the patient inside and took care of necessary paperwork, cleaning staff stationed outside would scrub down the vehicle, reports Manchester Evening News.
