‘Embargo is ripping us apart’, says CUH housekeeping staff member

WORKING in housekeeping in Cork University Hospital (CUH) has been described by a number of staff as “soul-destroying” following claims staff were asked not to take annual leave unless necessary.

They have also claimed there are not enough cleaning products to adequately manage infection control.

However, a spokesperson for CUH has moved to assure the public that there are enough cleaning supplies and that staff are entitled to their annual leave.

Annual leave 

A letter was sent to all housekeeping staff last week, which asked them not to request annual leave “unless it was absolutely necessary”, and noted that they would not be able to accept all requests as they were short-staffed.

A HSE embargo has left them unable to hire new staff since November, as the hospital broke records for the number of admittances and people on trolleys over the last few months.

“There’s a huge extra workload,” one staff member told The Echo.

“The hospital is overcrowded, every department is understaffed.

“You come home from work so tired that you’re not capable of conversation, you’re not capable of having a cup of tea with your husband or talking to your kids.”

Impact of embargo 

Another staff member said: “Our job load prior to the pandemic was heavy already, then covid quadrupled it, and it’s just not easing — this embargo is ripping us apart.

“I’m coming home and my back is so broken. Most days, I drive home and I’m crying in the car home from the pain.”

She added that though they are meant to use one mop per bathroom to protect against infection, they would need more than 30 mops to do this, and claims they are lucky to get five in the morning and another three at lunchtime.

The first staff member also claimed that one night she had to wash the floor with cloths, because she could not find a mop.

No shortage of materials 

However, a hospital spokesperson told The Echo that there is no shortage of cleaning supplies: “CUH have advised there is no shortage of cleaning materials to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene standards of the hospital. These standards are continuously monitored to ensure they are maintained.”

Meanwhile, the staff member said that there have been people turned down a dozen times when looking for annual leave, “and then asked: ‘Can you come in overtime and we’ll give you one of the days you’ve asked for?’

“[They’re then] told: ‘We don’t have the staff to give you that day we promised.’”

She added that she could get another job, “but at the end of the day, we care about the patients”.

“I love my job, I love meeting people, I love the elderly, but my spirit is not only broken — it’s left my body.

“If we could hire 30 people I’d say we’re still short,” she said, but added that nobody knows when the embargo will be coming off, so their superiors cannot even promise them more staff. 

'Coming home tired'

A third member of staff said: “It’s a big ball of stress, the workload is just ridiculous, and then you’re told that you can’t have your days off — I put in for three days and got refused for two of them —they’re days that I needed off.”

She explained that it takes her eight hours to clean one ward, and now she could be given as many as three to clean in the same time period.

“I’m not a person that does things by halves, I do everything 100%, but I’m one person. How in the name of God could I clean three wards?

“No one’s saying ‘Thanks very much’ at the end of the day, there’s nothing. You’re coming home tired, upset, cranky, and it’s just an ongoing thing.

“It is totally ruining our home lives.

“Some days, I can’t even talk I’m so tired, I’ll just be watching the clock and I was never like that. I used to have a laugh with my coworkers and have a chat with the patients.”

Union concerns 

A spokesperson for the Independent Worker’s Union (IWU), on behalf of their housekeepers at CUH, said: “The note that was put up regarding annual leave is a slap in the face to all housekeeping staff in CUH who, through no fault of their own, are basically being asked to forego their annual leave entitlements.

“The housekeeping staff are not responsible for the policies of the HSE or the Department of Health, and should not be punished for the consequences of those decisions.

“Our members in CUH and other hospitals deserve recognition for their hard work and deserve, like every other worker, to take their holidays every year,” the spokesperson said, adding, “The IWU will stand with our members all the way, up to and including industrial action.”

CUH response 

A spokesperson for CUH previously told The Echo: “We have advised that all staff in CUH are legally entitled to receive their annual leave, which is signed off by their line manager or deputy manager.

“However, due to the numbers of staff working in certain areas, it is not always possible to authorise all leave requests which have issued for the same dates.”