CATERING staff at a Paisley hospital are taking sick leave for injuries suffered from washing hundreds of equipment by hand due a faulty dishwasher, a trade union has warned.

Unison said it was concerned over delays to replace the dishwasher at the Royal Alexandra Hospital despite the machine breaking down for four months at the beginning of the year, and again in recent weeks.

The dishwasher in the hospital's Cook Freeze Production Unit (CFPU) has been out of order a second time since the middle of June, forcing kitchen staff to clean hundreds of dishes and utensils manually.

The physical labour has resulted in some staff developing strains and backaches that have left them unable to work.

A Unison representative at the hospital said: "The dishwasher in CFPU at RAH was out of order for four months at the beginning of the year. It has now been out of order again since mid-June.

"I had hoped either this would have been fixed by now or replaced. This is an urgent request which needs dealt with asap.

"Staff are working without essential equipment to do their job, with the result that some have been left with no option but to take sick leave. One member called me again today had to refer herself to a physiotherapist for back pain.

"Apparently it's not even on order yet."

It is understood that a meeting will take place today [Fri] where funds will finally be released to buy a new dishwasher.

Matt McLaughlin, Unison Scotland's head of health, said: "This is the economics of the madhouse - people can't spend money on an essential piece of equipment until some committee or forum meets to make a decision, and in the meantime catering workers are washing thousands of pieces of cutlery and dishes by hand and one woman as I understand it has injured her back.

"We're not talking about two cups and a plate and two spoons - we're talking about hundreds of items a day that need to be cleaned to a commercial standard. The scale of this is much bigger than the dishwasher in your house."

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "A dishwasher in the Cook Freeze Production Unit (CFPU) developed a fault and engineers carried out repairs.

"The dishwasher broke down again and a new one is being ordered.

"For clarity, this dishwasher is used purely for dishes following food preparation in this one kitchen and not used to wash any patient dishes."