Infection control
before being taken to the laundry and should not be placed on the floor.
l To prevent contamination, there should be a separate area for drying, ironing and storing clean linen, well away from used linen.
l Clean linen should be stored in a dry area raised at least six inches above the floor level.
l It is also important to reduce the amount of contact between staff members and clean linen – guidance recommends that items are handled no more than four times once washed.
l Do not store clean linen on wooden shelves as this can harbour bacteria. Stainless steel is recommended as it is easier to clean.
Infected or soiled linen must be kept separate from other laundry and stored in a sealed bag or trolley with the aim to wash it as soon as possible. Alginate bags can be useful in this situation to help stop the spread of infection. The high-density, translucent red polythene bags are designed to prevent the need to personally handle potentially contaminated garments and can be placed straight into the washing machine, where either they will dissolve during the wash or the stitches, which hold the bag together dissolve. Remember, if you are placing a small
item in the red bag it still needs to be tied at the top so there is enough of the seam exposed to dissolve and open the bag. Again, there must be enough space
in the drum to agitate the garments properly. If the red bag or its stitches have not dissolved then you know the correct cleaning process has not taken place.
Staff training All staff who come into contact with laundry need to be trained on the impact they can have on infection control - from the person who removes linen from a service user’s bed to the staff who work in the laundry, to the person who is getting linen from the linen cupboard. This includes how the process should
change, i.e. an enhanced process where a care worker believes that a resident poses an infection risk. For example, the laundry staff may
follow every process correctly but if the person removing sheets from a bed placed them on the floor before segregating them and sending them to the laundry, infection is still a risk. Commercial machines will have a
sluice wash designed to be used for heavily soiled items but all laundry staff need to know that this wash should be used and also that running a quick wash
will not lead to the thermal disinfection required as the correct temperature will not be reached for long enough. When implemented correctly, these
simple steps can have a big impact in helping your home meet and uphold laundry hygiene standards, which is crucial to the health of your residents, team and visitors.
TCHE
Amanda Symmons
Amanda Symmons is Washco’s care specialist who has worked in the professional laundry sector since 2006, specialising in the care sector for the past ten years. Understanding that every care customer is different and that having a successful laundry provision is about more than just the machine, Amanda uses her expertise to work with care and nursing homes to deliver the right approach for their requirements.
August 2021 •
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