Healthcare textiles – Clean and dirty carts
Over the next few weeks, the team at Compliance Shark will be highlighting our observations of the top 10 hidden infection prevention dangers that can contaminate healthcare textiles putting patients at risk. Today we’ll look into the dangers of clean carts touching dirty carts on the small wash deck.
Clean carts touching dirty carts on the small wash deck
Functional separation in infection control refers to the strategic division or segregation of various functions, processes, or areas within a healthcare or other relevant setting to prevent the spread of infections. The goal is to create distinct zones or procedures that help minimize the risk of cross-contamination and enhance overall infection prevention. That’s a fancy way to say “Keep contaminated items away from clean items.”
In a healthcare laundry, just like in a hospital, functional separation is imperative to protect clean healthcare textiles from contamination. An often overlooked area for cross-contamination is the small wash deck. The small wash deck is the area of any healthcare laundry where conventional washers and dryers (as opposed to continuous batch washers and dryers) are used to wash smaller or more specialized loads. The small wash deck is typically a room with washers and dryers. The small wash deck process normally looks something like the following:
An operator brings dirty linens in carts into the area.
The operator loads the dirty linens into a washer extractor and programs the correct wash formula.
When the wash formula ends, the operator unloads the clean linens into a cart and loads them into the dryer.
The operator finally unloads the clean linens from the dryer into a cart and moves them to the finish area.
What can go wrong with this picture? The problem happens when clean linen coming out of the washer or dryer comes in contact with the dirty linen ready to go into the washer. Bingo! Then we have Cross-Contamination and a huge infection risk.
How can we prevent this?
Compliance Shark recommends establishing procedures and training where dirty linen carts can only be in the small wash deck area when clean linen carts have exited the area. Clear signage illustrating this can help. Props can help too. In our laundry, we used a “Walk/Don’t Walk” sign. When an operator unloaded clean linen, he/she turned the “Don’t Walk” sign on. When the clean linen was moved to the finish, the sign was flipped back to “Walk.” Clean disinfected carts should never be in close proximity to dirty carts. The most important thing is to ensure you have a bulletproof process preventing cross-contamination and your operators are well-trained in the process.