Nottingham hospitals private cleaning contract 'to end'

Hospital staff complained of coming in to work to find dirty dishes from the night before

A hospital trust plans to end a private cleaning contract after complaints of a rat on a ward kitchen.

Nottingham University Hospitals Trust said it was in talks with Carillion about a "managed exit" from the £200m agreement almost three years early.

The firm was accused of having a "poor record of cleanliness" and an urgent review was ordered when the rodent was allegedly spotted.

Carillion said it had nothing to add to the trust's statement.

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Healthwatch complained that the contract was "putting patients' lives at risk"

The company faced complaints of overflowing bins, dirty dishes from the previous night, understaffing, and a rat seen at Nottingham City Hospital.

There were calls for the trust to sack the firm, and it promised to review the arrangement.

The five-year contract began in 2014 and covers cleaning, catering, laundry and linen, car parking and security.

In a statement released earlier, chief executive Peter Homa said: "The NUH Trust Board continues to be concerned about the performance of the Carillion contract.

"The board has therefore decided that significant changes to the arrangements with Carillion are required. NUH and Carillion are jointly exploring a managed exit from the Carillion contract."

He added that an agreement was expected to be reached by January and that the 1,500 staff would remain employed by the firm until that time.

Healthwatch said Carillion had shown a poor record of cleanliness