A group of cleaners at Kaitaia Hospital have become the first people to achieve the New Zealand Certificate in Cleaning level 2 (Health). All of the eight cleaners at the hospital chose to do the qualification and all achieved it.
Spotless has four hospitals in the far North and although all have now completed the training Kaitaia was the first group to be put through the system. Many other Spotless hospital cleaners around the country are also working towards this goal.
Spotless has been working with Careerforce to ensure their staff have access to the latest versions of the cleaning qualifications which were rewritten as part of the TROQ (targeted review of qualifications) instigated by TEC and NZQA.
The resulting qualification is much more accessible and relates well to what the cleaners actually do. Despite this close link all the cleaners say they have learnt a lot through the process. The training was done in groups with a great deal of discussion. Barbara Gaston, the Spotless Project Lead says that it is not often cleaners have an opportunity to participate in professional conversations and they learnt a great deal from each other as well as from the tutor.
What the cleaners found most useful was the ‘whys’ behind what they do. Knowing the reasons behind infection prevention practices makes it a great deal easier to ensure those practices are consciously adhered to.
Spotless is rolling out the cleaning qualification through its hospitals around the country and hopes to have all those interested in achieving the qualification completed by the end of this year.
Updated 20 August 2015