Coronavirus in Fife: Dance instructor scrubs up town community hall to scoop national cleaning award

Zoe, who co-owns Stages Dance School which is based at Kirkcaldy’s Linton Lane Centre, has won the Clinell Cleaning Heroes competition after going the extra mile and taking over the cleaning role to ensure that the centre was sparkling clean to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The competition, launched by GAMA Healthcare, manufacturer of Clinell Universal Wipes and infection prevention leaders in the NHS, invited local people to nominate friends, family or colleagues who have been on the frontline over the past year, helping to suppress the spread of the virus through cleaning.

Entries were submitted from across the country, and Zoe’s winning nomination was chosen in the summer by a panel of expert judges including Karen Wares, who specialises in infection prevention at GAMA.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Zoe threw herself into cleaning the community centre while her dance school had to close.

She worked longer hours to ensure the community centre used by many local groups and as food bank was cleaned to a high standard. The centre was open every day supporting much needed services such as the local food bank, which has dished out over 5000 meals during lockdown.

Every day Zoe was there to clean everything down from the industrial oven in the kitchen to every door handle after every use. She was there from 6.00am, cleaning everything down in between each service, often staying late if need be.

The judges were really impressed by the extra work Zoe put in to help ensure the safety of all her colleagues and the members of the community who use the centre.

Karen Wares, associate clinical director at GAMA Healthcare, said: “Zoe was a well-deserved winner. The dedication she showed to the centre, its staff and the wider community was excellent. We were delighted to hear that she was so passionate about implementing infection prevention control practices to help keep everyone safe. Good hand hygiene and surface hygiene are some of the most effective ways to help stop the spread of infection and protect those around us.”

Lorraine Wilkinson, centre chairman, nominated Zoe. She said: “Zoe takes such pride in her work and always goes the extra mile to keep our centre clean, bright and welcoming. Her work is always to the highest standard helping to ensure that all the services using the centre and their clientele did not get COVID-19. Nothing is too much trouble for our cleaning hero.”

Zoe said: “I am very humbled to win, particularly because so many people have done so much in these difficult times. I feel like I was doing my job but really wanted to be reassured that the safety of everyone had been achieved because of the high cleaning standards I set myself. I really wanted to make the centre a safe place especially for the vulnerable and all users that pass through the door.”

Zoe was humbled to hear she had won as her role is normally shared with another cleaner, who was furloughed. She intended to spend her £1000 winnings on worthy causes important to her.

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