Cleaners are being used as makeshift porters at Bradford Royal Infirmary to cover for staff sickness and shortages, it was revealed today.

But the move, sanctioned by Bradford Hospital NHS Trust which runs the hospital, has been condemned by porters who warn that using untrained staff to do their jobs could lead to catastrophe.

One cleaner and another staff member from cleaning contractors Initial Services were drafted in to take on porters' duties at BRI on Saturday night - which coincided with St Patrick's Day, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year.

The pair were covering tasks which included collecting blood for emergency operations and working in the Accident and Emergency Department - one of the busiest in the country.

A Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman today said it was essential to have a full portering service for patients and that the cleaner had volunteered to help and was performing duties under close supervision.

But one porter, who did not want to be named, condemned the use of untrained staff. "It's all right volunteering to do the job, but you are talking about dealing with poorly people. I could volunteer to be a doctor, but I wouldn't know what I was doing," he said.

"I had to have six to seven weeks training with another porter before I knew the job. If you are on your own with a cleaner, they wouldn't know what to do.

"It also puts more strain on the nurses."

Porters normally work in pairs. Their main task is pushing trolleys and lifting patients in and out of beds, but they are also required to obtain blood samples from a frozen store.

Today the man claimed that the staff shortages were due to poor wages, as low as £4.04 an hour, and no extra money for working Saturdays or nights.

"They're not paying the porters the right money - the permanent porters just won't do Saturdays. The porters here are very hard working. Putting cleaners in is like a slap in the face."

A spokesman for the Trust said five vacancies in Saturday's shifts had been filled by three porters and a cleaner from the hotel services department and an Initial Services' staff member.

"We would stress that it was not a case of this person working alone. He is an experienced member of staff who was working under the close leadership of one of our supervisors. We wouldn't put anyone into a job which we consider they could not do competently and effectively," he said.

Reports showed that there had been no problems with the portering service on Saturday, he added.