HOSPITAL LAUNDRY FACILITIES
Ensuring that your laundry has a clean bill of health
While maintaining a sterile environment is aways a priority for on-premises laundries (OPLs), the importance of this factor is redoubled for healthcare estates – where eliminating the risk of cross-contamination is essential to preventing the spread of bacteria. With this in mind, Mick Christian, Training & Demonstration manager for Electrolux Professional UK & Ireland, discusses best practice, and how new technologies can help Laundry managers enhance both hygiene and productivity.
The on-premises laundry truly is at the heart of any healthcare site’s facilities management strategy, with both patients and staff requiring a steady stream of clean linen every day. It is important to recognise that the range of items here is enormous, and includes bedclothes, gowns, and personal clothing for patients, alongside uniforms, surgical dresses, PPE, and more, for staff. These items represent just a portion of any given hospital’s laundry load each day. Moreover, hygiene – while always of importance to any laundry – is paramount in this setting. Without effective separation and hygiene control, the cross-contamination of different laundry items could potentially prove a major vector for the spread of disease. In turn, this could then compromise the health and safety of staff, visitors, and patients, many of whom may already be classed as vulnerable. Taking these considerations into account, the scale of the challenge
faced by hospital laundry managers is tangible, with thousands of items required to be collected, washed, and returned each day – all while ensuring stringent hygiene standards. However, adhering to best practice while making use of the correct equipment can significantly simplify this task and help to ensure a smooth, efficient, and safe on-premises laundry.
Categorisation and Collection Central to ensuring best practice for any on-premises laundry is grasping the distinction between different types of laundry. While this varies slightly from Trust to Trust, there are a number of core policies that span all NHS health estates. As a rule of thumb, gowns, uniforms, and bed linen should all be changed daily. The exception here is if any of these items become soiled – in which case they should be changed immediately. From here, all laundry – whether from patients,
staff, or operating theatres – falls into two primary categories: 1 Used – any used linen, irrespective of state. This includes linen which has been contaminated by bodily fluids, but not those from infected or suspected infected patients. This category makes up the majority of the laundry load for most NHS trusts.
2 Infected – linen from patients suffering from, or suspected to be suffering from, infectious conditions. This includes, but is not limited to, infections such as hepatitis A, B, and C, HIV, and MRSA.
Need to wear PPE Across both categories, linen should be collected while wearing PPE, and must not be carried through wards or left on the floor, so as to minimise transmission to the wider hospital environment. From here, used linen should be placed into a white marked bag, while infected linen should be sorted into a water-soluble red marked bag. Wet or soiled infected items should be wrapped inside dry items in order to prevent compromising the structural integrity of the bag before it reaches the wash. In the interest of handling and mobility, neither white nor red marked bags should be filled past three-quarters full. Linen bags must then be tied securely using the ‘swan neck’ method: 1 Hold the bag by the neck and twist until tight.
2 Fold the neck over to form a ‘swan neck’. 3 Fasten with seal until secure.
Crucially, this method eliminates the risk of any dirty laundry spilling out once collected. All bags should be labelled with identification tape to help aid collection and redistribution, indicating the original ward or department of the material. For personal items, the name of the patient should also be included. Linen bags should then be sorted into
Electrolux Professional Pullman barrier washers and FFS Vibe ironers in a ‘clean’ side room.
the corresponding bins and placed on an appropriate vehicle for collection by
June 2024 Health Estate Journal 45
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