HEALTHCARE LAUNDRIES
Key steps to giving your laundry a clean bill of health
Jackie Hook CChem, MRSC, and Lucy Cripwell (BSC Hons), of the Research and Development team at JLA – a specialist in the supply and servicing of catering, laundry, infection control, fire safety and security, and heating and air-conditioning systems, discuss the contribution of laundry facilities as part of a hospital or other healthcare facility’s overall ‘infection control care bundle’. They also highlight some of the key priorities to ensure that such laundries are operated in a compliant and safe manner that minimises any risk of infection transmission.
In all our lives laundry is part of our everyday routine, but it is often considered a low-risk area of activity in healthcare, with its potential value to sound infection control greatly underestimated. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly raised the profile of disinfection, stringent infection control, and and the need for strict hygiene measures throughout healthcare and other public buildings in order to minimise outbreaks of infection, and help to contain them when they occur. Perhaps for the first time an efficient and effective healthcare facility laundry process was recognised as a key part of the infection control regime; existing processes were scrutinised, and careful consideration afforded to what measures were required to cope with the virus, in the light of research confirming its persistence on textiles for long periods. Additionally, with increased concerns over the availability of effective antibiotics, particularly given the antibiotic-resistant nature of a number of microorganisms,
As with any laundry equipment, sorting fabrics into different drying types makes linen processing more economical.
attention is now being focused on reducing infections at source. As a consequence, many infection control
practitioners are now focusing heavily on areas previously considered low risk, such as laundry.
Published cases There have been a number of published cases highlighting the risk of infection from inadequate disinfection of laundry. In 1992, Bacillus cereus meningitis was found in two neurosurgical patients; an investigation resulted in linen being considered as the possible source of infection.1
It seemed probable that lint
The design of the laundry should take into account the provision of sufficient space within the room to establish clearly defined ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ areas to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
64 Health Estate Journal April 2023
from contaminated fabric was the vehicle of transmission of the organism during surgery. Bacterial contamination of gowns was also the subject of a study by North Bristol NHS Trust in 2001.2 Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci, were detected on uniforms before and after a span of duty, confirming contamination of nurses’ uniforms and the risk of transmission to patients. Evidence was presented as far back as 1995 in The Lancet by WA Telfer Brunton,3 recommended that Infection Control
who
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