Patients moved in sheet shortage

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A clean laundry shortage at Belfast's Mater Hospital meant bed sheets could not be changed for several hours.

Some patients had to sit on trolleys, and Unison spokesman Denis Keating said it was not the first such incident.

"Next week we will have a clean supply of bed linen to the wards but that in no way addresses the concerns that we have regarding today," he said.

A Belfast Health Trust spokeswoman said a new cleaning contract with a private supplier begins next Monday.

She added that until then, there was an adequate supply of laundry and contingency arrangements were in place.

Surgical wards A and B were worst affected by the shortage.