$1m a day maintenance services deal at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, but staff told to empty bins

Royal Adelaide Hospital clinicians who save lives and treat emergencies have been told to also empty their own office bins, despite a $1m a day contract with the private operator.

Royal Adelaide Hospital staff including clinicians are being told to empty their own waste bins – and are being chided not to let their waste fester under their desks and stink up the place.

The order for them to tramp down corridors with their bins to the nearest kitchenette and dump their waste in bigger bins has not gone down well with some staff.

“They can’t fix ramping but they want us to empty our own bins,” one noted.

Under terms of the 30-year contract signed by the previous Labor government, the private consortium SA Health Partnership (now Celsus) designed, financed, built and will maintain the hospital and supply non-clinical support services including cleaning until 2046 for more than $1m a day.

An order for staff to empty their own office waste bins at the RAH has caused a stir. Picture: Matt Loxton

SA Health officials say the maintenance deal did not include emptying office waste bins, although an internal RAH memo says the contractors have been emptying the bins but will no longer do so.

The memo says as of July 17, “the hospital’s cleaning provider Downer (formerly Spotless), will no longer empty the waste bins under desks/in private offices.”

“Staff are required to empty the bins below desks/in private offices,” it states.

“There are large waste bins located near the kitchenette for staff to empty their waste into.

“With this in mind, please be mindful of what waste you put in the bins below our desks/in our offices to minimise odour.”

There has been no change to waste collected in clinical areas or confidential waste bins.

Similar “empty your own bin” orders are in force in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital, but not at Flinders Medical Centre or Noarlunga Hospital.

A Central Adelaide Local Health Network statement says it has moved to “a more environmentally sustainable waste model which included the removal of under-desk bins in non-clinical spaces”.

“Under-desk bins in non-clinical spaces were initiated during Covid-19 in response to infection control guidelines and have not been a part of the contract with our partners at Celsus and Spotless,” it states.

“There has been no other changes to our waste removal processes.

“Staff who have kept under-desk bins are responsible for emptying them into centralised bins.

“In the lead up to these changes, we held fortnightly working groups and regular face-to-face check-ins with staff impacted by the change.”

It says dry waste is sorted and items that cannot be recycled are pulped and used by a local cement manufacturer.

Health Minister Chris Picton said: “Many offices have moved to more environmentally-friendly waste practices, and office areas in the RAH are no exception.

“Hospitals and health are significant contributors to waste and climate change and we all need to assess ways we can work more environmentally-friendly.”