Christina McKelvie MSP has tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament congratulating ten members of NHS Lanarkshire’s laundry services team, who were the first in the West of Scotland to successfully complete the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) level 2 in laundry services.

Central Scotland MSP Christina said:

“This is a significant achievement by these ten members of staff, which I thought deserved recognition by the Scottish Parliament. The importance of services such as laundry to the provision of high quality health services is often overlooked, but these support functions play a crucial role in patient care. For that reason, it is essential that non-clinical staff are given the opportunity to develop and extend their skills through study for professional qualifications such as the SVQ.

“The specialist skills that these ten newly qualified staff will bring to their jobs will help to improve patient care, enhance the support that they already provide to clinical colleagues and make an important contribution to the drive to improve hospital hygiene and wipe out infections. They fully deserve to be congratulated on their hard work and achievement.”

The text of Christina McKelvie’s Scottish Parliament motion is:

NHS Lanarkshire’s Qualified Laundry Team—That the Parliament congratulates Jackie Currie, Cathie McIvor, Kim Carroll, Louise Ledwith, Brian Monks, Margaret Hendry, Elaine Sneddon, James Lennon, Sandra Park and Alison Grier of NHS Lanarkshire’s laundry team on their successful completion of the Scottish Vocational Qualification level 2 in laundry services; notes that they are the first NHS laundry workers in the west of Scotland to achieve this qualification; commends NHS Lanarkshire’s recognition that non-clinical as well as clinical health service staff should be given opportunities to pursue training and education, and believes that patients and staff alike will benefit from the enhanced skills that these 10 newly qualified professionals will bring to their specialist area of work.