Priorities Right


Amanda Symmons, Care Segment Manager at Electrolux Professional, identifies the best solutions to ensure a proper Laundry Cycle Management process.


Many care homes have outsourced their laundry in the past, largely with a view to keeping costs down. However, doing so poses a dramatically increased risk of exposing linen to a variety of contamination risks.


Linen is one of the main vehicles of transmission for infections in the care sector, and proper care and attention to laundering everything from bed sheets to workers’ uniforms can contribute hugely to limiting the spread of bacteria. For this reason, it is paramount that industry laundry management guidelines are followed and a strict Laundry Cycle Management process is in place whereby operators can be sure that their facilities provide the top defence against micro-organisms and cross infections.


Before linen even reaches a washing machine, cleaning operatives must bear in mind that viruses can remain active in linen for significant periods of time, and established precautionary standards should be implemented in an effort to prevent staff from direct contagion.


THE BARRIER PROCESS It is clear that laundry is much more complicated than the touch of a button, and each stage of the journey needs to be carefully controlled through laundry cycle management.


One of the most effective ways to prevent contamination of clean laundry is to use a barrier washing system. The barrier laundry solution has been designed so linen is loaded into the machine on a ‘dirty’ side and then removed on a ‘clean’ (opposite) side, with a wall providing a physical barrier between the dirty and clean sides. This means that, provided the operator adheres to the appropriate health and safety hygiene procedures when loading and unloading the machine, there should be no opportunity for recontamination.


A Laundry Cycle Management process is still very much achievable in a traditional laundry setting too. Establishing an effective Laundry Cycle Management plan can offer care home managers a validation-based system that tracks the laundry


8 | CLEANING & INFECTION SUPPLEMENT


process, from the proper packaging and transportation of dirty items via dedicated routes through to the correct storage of linen once it is clean. Thanks to improved technology, it is also now possible for operators to fully monitor the performance of their laundry equipment, and ensure that all wash cycles are carried out in line with hygiene protocol.


BOLSTERED RESULTS Managers should also look for equipment which utilises additional features that can maximise the efficiency of their Laundry Cycle Management process. One example is Electrolux Professional’s Efficient Dosing (ED) system, which is a unique solution to help care home operators maintain hygienic best practice whilst keeping an eye on costs. This connects directly to a washing machine’s detergent pump and regulates the amount needed – in other words, if the machine is only half full, then only half as much water and detergent will be used.


From a process validation perspective, to achieve full thermal disinfection, a cycle has to be held at 93°C for one minute, 71°C for three minutes, or 65°C for at least ten minutes, in order to satisfy the requirements in the section ‘Disinfection of linen’ in the ‘Management and Provision’ Volume of HTM01-04. To give operators peace of mind when it comes to meeting this government guideline, the Process Validation system will record the entire wash process, validating that thermal disinfection has been achieved. It also allows for complete traceability when it also comes to filing reports for the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as Productivity Reports, containing all operational and cycle data can be easily downloaded to a USB.


Ensuring residents’ laundry is both aesthetically and hygienically clean should of course be one of the key aims for care home operators and managers. However, it is important to remember that this is not just for infection control purposes, as clean and fresh laundry which is well looked aſter can go a long way to helping residents feel comfortable in their surroundings.


www.electrolux.co.uk/professional www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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