It is important to manage healthcare and hospital Linen laundering safely and hygienic manner. Industrial laundering scores over individual washing owing to stringent SoPs followed by the former. Hence, outsourcing laundry care and maintenance to service providers specializing in linen management, can enable hospitals to handle linen more effectively.
Decoding Commercial Laundry Services in Hospitals
Hospitals are a fertile breeding ground for infections and contamination. HeathCare Associated Infections or HCAI is a huge problem for large scale chain of hospitals and healthcare centres. In fact, managing HCAI should be a top priority for hospitals. Therefore, laundry services in hospitals must be such that the cleaning and maintenance of linen is foolproof and also sustainable at the same time.
To choose the best hospital linen management services in India, it is important to assess the quality of cleaning and laundry processes being deployed.
Some important points for consideration could be:
-Which hospitals and healthcare facilities are they serving?
-Are washing techniques up-to-date with the latest washing techniques?
-Is the vendor partner aligned with infection-free and completely safe practices?
Facts & Figures
According to a report published by WHO in 2022, out of every 100 hospitalized patients at any given time, 7 in developed countries and 10 in developing countries will acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection.
The U.S. based National Institute of Health NIH estimates that ‘more than 1.4 million patients worldwide in developed and developing countries are affected by HCAIs at any time.’
It is therefore very important that hospital and healthcare linen is carefully handled as these textiles can carry microorganisms. Only when they are appropriately laundered can they be deemed suitable for use in patient wards, ICUs and private chambers.
Linen as Infection Hotbeds
The Coronavirus epidemic taught us how surfaces and clothes are responsible in transmitting infections. It must be noted how hospital and healthcare linen breed a number of microorganisms. Amongst these, some are methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and more. These can survive on linen for weeks. Furthermore, affected and used linen then becomes a potential source of cross-contamination.
Conclusion
In light of the above, it is highly recommended that problems of contaminated or infected hospital laundry are regarded with priority. Hospital chains must opt for commercial laundry services such as Quick Smart Wash that are setting high standards in healthcare settings with their holistic laundry solutions for more than a decade.
