Laundry management
include the use of barrier washers that offer the best possible defence against the spread of micro-organisms. Using commercial washing machines that are guaranteed to kill infection through sustained high temperature washes is another measure to consider alongside the use of tumble dryers that help to kill off any remaining bacteria. The NHS Health Technical Memorandum 01-04 guidelines specifically define the decontamination of linen for health and social care. For effective thermal disinfection, linen must be held during a wash at various times and temperatures; 10 minutes at 650 over, three minutes at 750 minute at 850
C or C or over or one C or over. You should
therefore ensure you are using a commercial washing machine that is capable of meeting these standards.
Collection to clean
One of the reasons why a group of nursing homes was put into special measures was that the collection of soiled laundry from bedrooms by staff did not ensure suitable standards of cleanliness. This could mean that laundry was picked up by hand and carried to the laundry openly without the use of protective equipment, rather than being put straight into a sealed container such as a bag or bin in the bedroom where it remained until being washed. To counter this, bags and personal
protective equipment (PPE) should be used to protect residents, visitors and staff from being exposed to potentially infected items. This shows that an effective and compliant laundry process does not start and finish within the laundry room. Care homes need to ensure that hygienic and efficient processes are set and used all the way from collecting soiled items to returning them clean. This could include ensuring items are
collected and transferred to the laundry immediately by suitable means and separately from general washing. It also means that once clean, laundry should not come into contact with soiled materials at any point prior to its reuse. Laundry appliances should be Water Regulatory Advisory Scheme (WRAS) category five compliant to prevent contamination of the mains water supply. Compliant models of washing machine
Areas in which laundry provision may have an impact on your CQC rating CQC key line of enquiry
Is it safe?
Areas relevant to laundry provision Example Managing risk
Suitable staff and staff cover Infection control Learning when things go wrong Is it effective? Staff skills and knowledge
How staff, teams and services work together
Is it caring? Is it well led? Privacy and dignity Governance and management
Learning, improvement and innovation
Are laundry infection risks properly assessed and managed?
Is the laundry effectively and continually staffed so that soiled linen is washed quickly?
Do the laundry and its equipment meet Department of Health infection control guidelines?
Is action taken as a result of cleanliness or process concerns?
Are staff trained properly in how to follow laundry process and use the equipment?
Is there effective communication and sharing of
laundry processes between different staff, eg carers collecting laundry and those who wash it?
Is laundry clean and disinfected when returned to the user in line with dignified living standards?
Is the laundry covered by the home’s approach to governance and is it effectively managed?
Is there evidence of improvements made as a
result of prior laundry issues? Is new equipment offering higher infection control guarantees being considered or used?
January 2019 •
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