Client: Newcastle City Council
Background: APM Cleaning & Repair has been a trusted supplier of Cleaning Services to Newcastle City Council on a regular and ad-hoc basis since 2005.
Job: APM was requested to provide a price to clear and clean a tenant’s property by NCC Social Services Department.
Appraisal: APM met with the appointed social worker at the premises to understand the full job requirements, where the tenant was still in situ.
The home was over-filled, in an extremely dirty and unsanitary condition with blood, urine and faeces evident throughout the property.
APM initially requested further information relating to the case relevant to the clean; specifically, to be made aware of any known blood pathogens, vermin/ infestations and whether there was an awareness of any particular needle-stick risks to staff.
APM was informed that there were no known blood-borne pathogens such as HIV, that there was a high likelihood of a needle-stick risk as the son of the elderly resident was a drug user and had been gaining access to the property. The infestation situation was unknown at this stage.
APM’s role at this meeting was to not only understand the cleaning requirements and potential risks, but to reassure the tenant of APM’s methods, intentions and sensibilities, and to assist in them making the decision to allow our cleaning team entry.
Action: On the scheduled day of the clean, our team arrived to find the tenant on the floor, very distressed and in a state of undress. The Social Worker was contacted to inform of the situation and an ambulance called. The Social Worker arrived shortly after and requested that our team return another day.
The tenant was admitted to hospital, and during this time, APM were instructed to carry out works as previously agreed.
Upon permission, APM arranged an 8-yard lockable skip, a skip permit, and obtained prices for mattresses, sharps bin, hazardous and WEEE waste removal.
APM then undertook a sharps sweep using PPE, metal detector and tongs.
During the sharps sweep, it became very evident that there was a scabies infestation, and that the floors throughout the flat were sodden with urine.
The APM team cleared the flat, removing refuse, soiled/infested soft furnishings, clothing, carpets and all soiled/infested furniture, whilst ensuring the tenant’s personal effects were saved where possible: in this case the client had quite an extensive collection of 80s vinyl records and stamps and was extremely agitated at the thought of anyone entering the home, removing their personal effects.
Pest Control spraying was undertaken following clearance of the property and the following day, APM undertook a deep clean.
The team sprayed all floorboards with urine neutraliser, cleaned faeces from the walls and blood from the bathroom and followed with a deep clean throughout to all the walls, architraves, windows, internal and external cabinetry and sanitary ware. All appliances were contaminated and were therefore removed and safely disposed of.
Follow up: Following the tenant’s discharge from hospital, we received a heart-felt thank you from the tenant via the social worker, and thanks for compassionate handling of a sensitive situation and excellent cleaning standards.
Notes: This is a typical scenario when undertaking a clean of a hoarders/ drugs clearance property. This particular case study relates to APM’s work with Newcastle City Council, however our experience of such cleans extends to additional local authorities, including Sunderland, Knowsley Council and Livv Housing.
