COVER STORY
Establishing A Safe
And Efficient Laundry Process
Amanda Symmons (née Dufrane), Care Segment Manager at Electrolux Professional, discusses how to deal with contaminated laundry and limit the risks involved.
Throughout the care sector, soiled linen is one of the principle vehicles for potentially harmful bacteria. For those coming into contact with items such as bedsheets, towels and clothing every day, that means prolonged exposure to potentially dangerous articles.
In the UK, contaminated laundry can refer to any item of linen which has either been fouled by human waste, or infected by somebody with a contagious illness. Interestingly, our definition of contaminated laundry is different to the rest of Europe, where they have separate processes depending on whether linen is fouled or infected. Here, regardless of whether a resident has wet the bed, or contracted a healthcare
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associated infection (HCAI), the linen will be considered ‘red bag’ washing.
Infections are generally transmitted either through the air, through food, through insects or through contact – by which we mean things like linen. This makes linen one of the main ways bacteria and viruses are spread around in the healthcare environment.
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE When it comes to who is at risk of contaminated laundry, there are two key things to think about: one is that if you work in a care environment and you are handling fouled or infected linen, you could be exposed to any bacteria that it might be contaminated with;
just as important is that within a care establishment, the majority of people will be elderly residents or patients who are more vulnerable to infection.
REDUCING THE RISKS Because humans and animals are where bacteria and viruses originate, the best way to reduce the risk of infection in a care home is to reduce the amount of contact between staff members and clean linen – the latest guidance recommends that items are handled no more than four times once washed.
In order to protect both staff and residents, is vital that those working in a care environment ensure that all linen remains harmless at every stage of its
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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