Operational Facilities Services
Domestics
Around-the-Clock Cleaning for Safer Care
The Domestics service within NTH Solutions operates on a 24/7 basis and is responsible for the provision of a comprehensive, cost-effective cleaning and decontamination service that meets the needs of patients, colleagues and visitors, and that fulfils the objectives of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.
Infection Control at the Heart of Our Service
Our Domestic teams work in line with all Infection Prevention and Control policies and procedures, and support with any specific requests such as terminal cleans and outbreak cleans. This helps the Trust to effectively manage patient flow and service delivery. In addition, we also offer HPV fogging on a 24/7 basis, which is classed as gold standard in regard to decontamination.
Meeting the Highest National Standards
The Domestic Service provided is in line with the National Standards of Cleanliness 2021. All areas fall under the FR1 – FR3 categories, with all clinical areas being required to meet a pass level of 98%. All clinical wards across our hospital sites receive a Domestic service from 07:00 to 21:00, with any ad-hoc requests being picked up by a Rapid Response Team, available 24/7.
We get through around
1,000
launder-able mop heads per day!
We provide
16 hours
of non-stop cleaning per day over two shifts across our hospital sites
On average, we complete more than
310
domestic response and terminal clean calls each week, on top of the routine cleaning we do across our hospital and community sites
We complete more than
1,200
patient transfers per week across our hospital sites, and the same in Radiology patient transfers
We process and send out between
15,000 – 16,000
letters per week from our hospital sites – and we process around 13,000 Second Class letters posted each week
On average, our Porters each walk around
8 miles
per shift!
Comprehensive Portering and Mail Room Services
NTH Solutions is responsible for the delivery of all Portering and Mail Room activities across our hospital sites at North Tees, Hartlepool and Peterlee, as well as at the Tees Valley Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Stockton-on-Tees. These teams are responsible for a wide range of tasks and activities.
Supporting Patient Flow and Clinical Operations
Predominately, the main function of our colleagues is to facilitate the transfer of patients throughout the Trust and the CDC on a 24/7 basis. They cover all areas of our hospitals, with some areas such as the Emergency Department and Endoscopy having dedicated support. Other areas, such as wards and Radiology, access the use of the Porters who are part of our general pool. Alongside this, Porters are responsible for all Linen exchanges in clinical areas, and the transportation of waste, sharps and any other equipment that is required by either NTH Solutions or the Trust.
Efficient Mail Handling Across Sites
Our Mail Room teams manage all incoming and outgoing mail across our hospital and community sites from their two bases at North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals.
Linen and Sewing Room
Dedicated Linen and Sewing Services Across Sites
NTH Solutions operates a dedicated Linen and Sewing Room service at both the University Hospital of North Tees (UHNT) and University Hospital of Hartlepool (UHH) sites. These areas are responsible for the sorting and organising of Linen, and the requirements of specific clinical areas. We support the safe and effective running of our hospitals by ensuring that no area is ever short of Linen.
Supporting Staff with Uniforms and Tailored Needs
Our Sewing Rooms support in the distribution, measuring and ordering of colleague uniforms, ensuring there is adequate stock for any new starters or employees who require an updated work wardrobe. In addition, this team works closely with our clinical colleagues in North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to support all of their sewing and linen requirements too.
In the 2024-25 financial year, we used more than
2.2m items
of linen across our North Tees hospital site, and more than 172,000 at our Hartlepool hospital site!
We embroidered
3,700
colleague uniforms at our Hartlepool hospital site (2024-25)
We issued
8,400
uniforms to colleagues in the 2024-25 financial year, and made 3,650 alterations
In May 2025, our Medical Equipment Library Team delivered an average of
275
pumps per day to patients on our Trust’s hospital wards (excluding A&E)
Medical Equipment Library
Centralised Medical Equipment Support
The NTH Solutions Medical Equipment Library team is responsible for the delivery, collection and decontamination of medical equipment from all wards within the Trust’s hospitals.
Ensuring Equipment is Safe and Serviceable
The team also ensures that all equipment remains serviceable, and works with our Clinical Engineering department to fix or maintain items as required.