LAUNDRY Take A Load Off
In light of significant social care cuts and higher staff costs because of the National Living Wage, the pressure is on for care homes. Paul Swift, Business Development Manager at Berendsen, looks at the surprising way laundry can help to relieve the burden of the care home crisis for many providers.
A worrying new study into the current state of social care services for older people has painted a particularly bleak picture of what the future may hold for elderly Britons and care home businesses alike. Published by the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust in September, the report shows that some 20,000 homes nationwide are under acute pressure to maintain quality services in the face of the tumbling fees that cash strapped local authorities pay towards residents’ care, while also grappling with increased staff costs sparked by the introduction of the National Living Wage.
Although the Department of Health has promised to increase the amount of money local authorities can access for social care by up to £3.5billion by 2020, it is clear that care homes need to examine their operations and determine where efficiency can be enhanced and cost savings made, without negatively impacting the care delivered.
Laundry is an area where potential savings can be made, particularly as a number of care homes are keen to make changes to their on- site processes. A survey revealed that one in seven care homes feel their current in-house laundry set- up is ineffective and were keen to streamline processes and make improvements. With pressure on every part of the care home business, a growing number of facilities are moving away from time-consuming, costly and labour intensive on-site laundries and are instead choosing to outsource their laundry services.
This may seem like a radical model of working to some care homes, but it is delivering significant benefits to those who have already embraced it. As well as making laundry one less thing to worry about, outsourcing is also proving to be a simpler and more reliable alternative to in-house operations, saving time, hassle and, potentially, costs. It also means
other issues, such as costly and time consuming machine breakdowns and misplaced clothing, are a thing of the past. Outsourcing laundry can also have a positive impact on a home’s capacity to effectively manage infection control.
Laundry providers, such as Berendsen, can offer a simple, one-stop service that includes linen rental options as part of the bespoke laundry package. They can launder residents’ personal items in addition to providing the care homes’ linen and they devise a customised collection and delivery schedule tailored to each business to make sure everything is washed, dried, ironed, packaged and back with the home exactly when it is needed. In addition, everything is traceable throughout the entire process using sophisticated tracking technology to ensure residents’ items are only ever returned to their rightful owner.
With the adult social care sector under increasing pressure, businesses must look at alternative ways of managing cost pressures if they are to ride out the storm. Although laundry is a non-core activity, keeping linen and residents clothing clean and hygienic is a vital element of good quality care and one that can cause considerable problems if performed inefficiently in-house. Instead, outsourcing to an experienced and reliable laundry services provider can help care homes to realise substantial benefits and cost savings for improved performance and, most importantly, greater business success.
www.berendsen.co.uk - 26 -
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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