Name: Spearhead Healthcare
Address: Irvine, North Ayrshire
Telephone: 0345 180 1800

Key Takeaways

The importance of laundry guidelines in care homes
Infection control
Laundry segregation
Compliance laws
Training staff on laundry regulations

The importance of Laundry Guidelines in Care Homes

Laundry guidelines are in place to reduce the spread of infection, keep care homes clean and for resident comfort. By following guidelines and protocols for laundry, there is a significantly lowered risk of infections spreading through the homes. It’s imperative to make sure the health of residents isn’t compromised when people fall ill. This is especially significant when immunocompromised residents are concerned.

Having standardised procedures regarding laundry means all staff will follow the same rules and protocols, leaving less room for human error that could result in infections and bacteria spreading.

Infection Control in Laundry Guidelines

As mentioned, its important to have laundry guidelines that all staff must follow to avoid infections spreading between residents and to staff. These guidelines don’t just apply to how to wash linen and other laundry, but also to washing and cleaning machinery that is used in care homes. Regularly cleaning washing machines, dryers and other laundry equipment will disinfect the equipment and keep infection spreading at bay.

To minimise infection spread whilst handling soiled linens, all staff members must wear the correct PPE, this includes gloves and placing laundry into the correct laundry bags. This is also to avoid clean and soiled laundry being mixed together.

Using detergents that are able to kill bacteria and infections whilst washing are a necessity in care homes to help stop the spread of infection.

Laundry Segregation

There should be separate areas to house both clean and soiled laundry in care homes, including sacks that are colour-coded to contain a specific type of laundry. Infected laundry must be kept separate from all other types of laundry for example, used linens will be kept separate from linens that are soiled. This is to reduce infection spread via contamination.

Clear signs and colour codes must be in place in care homes to ensure laundry is kept separate. This keeps it very clear to staff what laundry needs to be placed in the correct area.

Compliance Laws

Compliance laws for laundry regulations are in place to keep residents and staff safe, whilst also maintaining the correct standards for residents to live comfortably. Resident wellbeing is at the forefront of all correctly run care homes so following these laws will ensure there are no legal issues regarding standards of care.

Care Standards Act 2000

The Care Standards Act 2000 refers to care services ensuring proper hygiene and maintenance of care environments. This ranges from laundry to machinery that is used to clean and dry linens, such as washing machines, dryers and areas that are used to properly store laundry.

Health and Social Care Act 2008

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 was established by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and refers to ensuring all providers of health and social care are registered and adhere to the standards set. This includes infection control within care homes.

Training Staff on Laundry Regulations

Making sure staff stay up to date with regulations means consistent training, upkeep and checks to make sure practices are being followed correctly.

Having clear signs and documentation for all staff should ensure that no issues with infection control occur. Giving staff hands on training when implementing changes or keeping up to date is also helpful. It’s also important to make sure all staff can give feedback on training, if anything is unclear this should be raised immediately.

Prefer to Quickly Talk to Our Advisors about your Laundry needs?

Spearhead Customer Service Advisor Not to worry! We understand that people can be busy when looking after a care facility.

Our team of specialists are available to discuss your laundry requirements. Give us a quick call or contact us online today for a chat, and we can give advice and produce you a quick quote.

Call us: 0345 180 1800
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