Wessex and Bristol offer NHS staff £50 rebate for cost of uniform washing

Wessex Water and Bristol Water are offering a £50 rebate to frontline NHS staff who are required to wash their uniforms at home during the pandemic.

Each NHS frontline worker, whose supply is metered, can apply and the discount will be applied to their next bill. NHS guidelines are for uniforms to be laundered separately from other items, with the machine half full at most and at the highest temperature recommended for the item.

Wessex Water said: “Coronavirus has not changed these rules but given the pandemic, it is likely that staff will want to wash each item as it is used rather than wait for a number of uniforms to be dirty before doing a single wash. We don’t think it’s fair for these workers to pay more for their water given that they are at the very front line of the fight against Coronavirus , which is why we’re offering the rebate.”

The scheme was launched after Wessex worked with its customer and NHS worker Karen Triggs. She said: “As we are following strict national guidance on infection prevention and control we need to wash our uniforms more and my machine can be on twice a day. This is a really challenging time for the NHS and our colleagues really appreciate all the help that we are getting from organisations such as Wessex Water. We’d like to thank them for their amazing support.”

Wessex said it had received thousands of applications, largely because NHS staff had widely shared the information among themselves on social media. For instance, Karen Monteiro tweeted: “Local frontline unformed NHS friends… if you are on water meter you can claim a £50 rebate from Wessex Water to help with the cost of washing your uniforms at home. Thanks Wessex Water.”