Spotless loses contracts with Flinders Medical Centre and Modbury Hospital amid criticism over food quality at RAH

SERVICE giant Spotless has lost its contract to provide non-clinical services to the Flinders Medical Centre and Modbury Hospital as the company continues to receive criticism for its food at the RAH.

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SERVICE giant Spotless, which has been harshly criticised for providing poor food and services at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, has lost its bid to renew contracts with two major Adelaide hospitals.

Flinders Medical Centre and Modbury Hospital both put up for tender their contracts for non-clinical supplies, including food and cleaning services.

Both were previously under contract with Spotless, which employs thousands of workers across Australia.

A vegan patients was given two boiled potatoes as a meal at the RAH.

As part of the tender process both hospitals decided to part ways with Spotless, making the transition to rival provider ISS.

Spotless’ contract will come to an end in December this year with the employment of 220 workers across both sites now in doubt.

However the company remains contracted to provide catering, hospitality, cleaning, laundry and maintenance services to the Royal Adelaide Hospital until 2046.

The food being dished up to patients at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: Leon Byner/FIVEaa

Spotless still provides services to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital while ISS already was contracted to Lyell McEwin Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

An SA Health spokeswoman said the procurement process for the hospital’s vital services was “transparent”.

“Any new contract is generally awarded through an open market process where quality and price are key considerations,” the spokeswoman said.

“We are working with both suppliers to develop and implement appropriate transition plans.”

Spotless has come under fire for providing substandard food to Adelaide hospital patients since the RAH opened in September 2017.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the focus of the State Government needed to be the workers facing unemployment.

“The Marshall Liberal Government needs to outline its plan for affected workers and how they will be able to transfer to the new provider,” Mr Picton said.

The relationship between Spotless and the public hospital system was scrutinised last month when Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA chief executive Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars said she was “not at all” surprised when the RAH operating costs ballooned by thousands of dollars.

“Our concerns really have come to fruition ... we opposed a public-private partnership at every turn,” Prof Dabars said in April.

“There is a disconnect between services being provided by Spotless and they (staff) are spending a lot more time fixing the cracks that emerged in the system and dealing with the breakdown in team work that has emerged.

“There are a huge number of frustrations — people are focused more on contract enforcement rather than the main game, delivering safe patient care.”

The relationship between Spotless and Celsus, the group created to help deliver the new hospital, got off to a rocky start with Spotless accused of breaching its $100m contract numerous times.