AREAS of York Hospital are being left in a poor condition because of problems with staffing, hospital cleaners have claimed.

Cleaning staff at the hospital have said gaps in cover, caused by unfilled vacancies and staff sickness, amount to 750 hours a week.

York Hospital has said there are currently 24 vacancies and interviews are taking place throughout February. In the meantime they have temporarily increased agency hours to ensure cleanliness is not compromised.

But one member of staff, who asked not to be named, said there had been numerous complaints about cleanliness and described some areas as being "filthy".

They said problems are being exacerbated by background checks on staff taking months to complete, which mean applicants seek other jobs, and could be made worse with plans to charge new members of staff for the cost of the checks.

However, York Hospital said standards of cleanliness have been unaffected by staffing issues.

Terry Cunliffe, of Unite the union, said the union was in discussions with the hospital to resolve pressure on its members.

He said: "That type of job in the NHS is always subject to severe fluctuations and York has been on the receiving end of that. Staff are stressed because they are unable to meet targets or they are under stress because the level of cleanliness is not as they would want.

"It's inevitable something has to go," he added, "Our members are devoted to maintaining standards, but if you have no staff to clean, inevitably that leads to a decline in standards."

Mr Cunliffe said recent changes to the targets cleaning staff work to, and changes to break patterns, have created a "perfect storm".

A spokesperson for the hospital said: “York Hospital currently has vacancies for 24 whole time equivalent domestic positions, with interviews taking place throughout February. Given that there are a number of current vacancies we have temporarily increased agency hours to ensure the cleanliness in our hospitals is not compromised.

“The hygiene and cleanliness in our hospitals is of utmost importance to us. Widespread activity takes place across all our hospitals to ensure that the environment in wards and clinics is as safe as possible for our patients, focusing on prevention, practices and procedures."

Meanwhile, plans to ask all new recruits to pay for their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks will save an expected £70,000 a year for the trust, they said.

An enhanced DBS costs £44, but most domestic staff only require a standard check costing £26, the hospital said.

A spokesperson for York Hospital said:“The DBS is essential as it helps the Trust make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children.

“In 2015/16 the Trust spent nearly £70k on DBS checks, which is clearly a significant cost to the organisation. As such, from April 2017 the Trust will be seeking to reclaim the costs of the checks from the appointed candidate.

“As all of our neighbouring NHS trusts are already charging for DBS this would bring us in line with other employers.

“The cost of an enhanced DBS is £44, which the successful candidate can pay via payroll in up to four separate instalments.”

- York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust regularly holds recruitment marketplace events. The next event takes place at York Hospital on Saturday, March 25, from 10am to 2pm in the main reception at York Hospital and will include a range of vacancies and job opportunities available.