Dirty hospitals are cancelling surgery

Hospitals are being forced to cancel operations because private contractors are not cleaning and returning surgical equipment on time.

At least eight procedures were dropped in Manchester in the past few weeks, prompting fears the city may not be able to cope with a disaster or terror attack.
Synergy, which cleans for the Wythenshawe and Trafford General hospitals, returned late or damaged equipment. The company argued the cost of a perfect service would be 'astronomical'.

Meanwhile, the British Orthopaedic Association, which says 5,000 operations are cancelled each year because of cleaning problems, warns 'off-site' sterilisation also affects standards because 'those which remain in-house haven't been given funding they need'.

The department of health offers extra funding if hospitals pay private contractors to clean equipment.

Source: The Metro.