Ms. Aditi Desai Lecturer M.Sc.(Nursing),PGDHA ,M.

Phil ,MBA

When most people think of hospitals they usually think in terms of doctors

and nurses because of there high visibility, the profile services they render
and the close relationship they have with patients and their relatives. But those who are familiar with the day to day operations of hospitals

realize that no hospital can operate without the less glamorous services
such as housekeeping, laundry and kitchen that go by the name of supportive services. Laundry and linen services are one such vital

department of the hospital.

Patients Point of view

Psychological Satisfaction Soothing Positive image of hospital

Medical point of view

Reduced HAI

Faster recovery(Pleasant aspect)

Patients comfort and satisfaction

Administrators point of view

Good public relation Positive image of hospital Ensure quality services

Collection of or receiving soiled and infected linen Processing soiled linen through laundry equipment. This includes sorting,

sluicing and disinfecting, washing, extracting, conditioning, ironing,

pressing and folding

Inspection and repair of damaged linen, their condemnation and

replacement

Assembling and packing specialty items and linen packs for sterilization Distributing processed linen to the respective user departments

Maintenance and control of active and back-up inventories and processed

linen

The operational chief of the laundry is a laundry manager who may have been trained in laundry operation or has adequate experience in the field. He reports to one of the

associate or assistant administrators. Much laundry manages come up through the ranks.
However, with increased automation and better opportunities to train people in technical school No formal training required for the other personnel and most of them learn their responsibilities on the job. Hospitals will do well to recruit personnel who are able to read and understand simple instructions. Follwoing staff is require

Laundry manager who has been trained in this activity

Laundry assistant
Labour staff

The linen requirements can be calculated on the basis of operational planning of areas of different activities, the nature of the hospital, type of hospital and the policy of the hospital

The areas to be considered primarily are:

Fixed areas e.g. OPD and other department

Operation theaters and labor rooms Intensive care units, indoor Wards and private rooms

Overall availability of sets of linen Type of laundry system ( In-plant system) Type of detergent being used for washing purpose As per general experience 15-0 percent of the linen becomes unusable after period of 3 months.

Ideally , a hospital having 100% bed occupancy should have six set of
linen per patient as given below:

One set in patients bed / One set en-route to laundry /One set in process in laundry /One set ready for use

Two sets for active storage for work and use in case of emergencies

Hospital linen can be classified in the following categories: 1) Store linen: i) Patient Linen : ii) Staff Linen iii) Department/ service linen 2) Laundry linen:

Body linen / Bed Linen

Soild linen : use by the patient Infected Linen: contaminated by infected material such as pus, blood, body

discharge etc.

Foul linen :contains faeces, excretions and blood stains Radioactive linen

Linen Collection from ward Transport to laundry Sorting ( blood stained/ Non stained ) Washing Drying Pressing Folding Sorting ( Coloured/ White)

Loading
Distributing

1)Centralized linen distribution : Linen issued from central linen room / Exchange trolley system Requirement communicated in written form Tedious process: counting of linen required before requisitioning Time consuming process 2)Decentralized linen services : Various units, wards, OTs etc are allotted required quota of linen articles Linen are marked thus avoid mixing up Nursing in charge are responsible

Large number of linen required

3)Mixed Linen services

Contract system In Plant system Cooperation system Linen rental system Training Of Staff:

Handling Of Machine Handling of Linen Use of gloves and gowns Should be begged separately from other linen Should be washed separately Fire Safety and precaution

Proper accounting

Not storing too much of linen: Thefts are common and may be
difficult to identify

Keeping soiled linen under lock and key to avoid pilferage Keeping clean linen in cupboard to avoid theft

Not giving away control of linen to labour staff

A manager must know

production,
purchasing Linen, washing formula

Supply
Utilization of services Control of the washing formula is the heart of costs in linen