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THE decision to close NHS laundry services in Scotland will be reconsidered as part of planning to deal with a coronavirus pandemic following pressure from Labour today.
Scottish party leader Richard Leonard secured a commitment from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Holyrood after he raised concerns about the closure of half of the sites serving hospitals north of the border.
Discussions are ongoing about whether mainland Scotland should be left with just four laundries.
Mr Leonard called on Ms Sturgeon to “give an undertaking to ensure the necessary funding and resources are available to councils and the NHS” and to “place a moratorium” on the plans to reduce the number of laundries.
In response, the First Minister said no decision would be taken on the laundries which could adversely affect the Scottish government’s response to coronavirus.
She added that no final options had been presented to ministers on the potential closures, which would affect dozens of staff in Tayside and Fife.
Ms Sturgeon was also asked to given councils the necessary resources to ensure that hygiene levels are maintained.
Mr Leonard added that he had spoken to council leaders who were worried about the capacity of social-care services across Scotland.
He asked Ms Sturgeon how the government planned to meet its Coronavirus Action Plan commitment to “support early discharge from hospital,” given that Scotland’s NHS is struggling to discharge patients on time.
She responded by pointing to increased resources for local government in the 2020-21 budget to cover cleaning services.
The news coincided with the government warning that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Scotland could rise “very rapidly” in the coming days.
Ms Sturgeon also made clear that the Department for Work and Pensions must ensure that universal credit claimants who have to self-isolate are not sanctioned for following medical advice.
With some workers not eligible for sick pay if they are affected, she said the British government should set up immediate hardship grants for people in this situation.
