Introduction

1. Linen Management – Nepean Hospital “Roll On – Roll off” : Improving service delivery and safety Introduction Methods Actions taken Results 1.Reduction in Manual handling injuries – repetitive strain reports and “push pull” back injury/strain reporting. • Undertook stakeholder consultation • Current issues onsite were identified by General services, risk management, Infection control and linen staff on the floor as; • Manual Handling injuries being reported. • Infection control compliance with stock control. • Uncertainty around stock holdings / control & expenditure allocations to areas. • Data collection • Data was collected around these points. • Findings • It was found that on an average day at Nepean Hospital we were double handling linen up to 3 or possibly 4 times a day. • Manual handling data showed that we had a high degree of injuries associated with moving this volume of linen. • Expert advice from Infection Control was received regarding the opportunities for cross infection associated with handling patient linen this many times. • Linen counts were not accurate and so charges and stockholdings to the wards/unit and from suppliers was erratic and not sustainable Nepean Hospital had for many years used the traditional methods associated with linen delivery i.e. linen was picked and manually packed for all wards/clinics on a daily basis. This involved a large amount of manpower and associated manual handling & infection control risks. A system of “Roll On, Roll Off” linen delivery was developed in association with our service provider. The linen now comes prepacked as per the ward/clinic agreed set order levels. 2. Improved stock control & billing from vendor to ward manager – better financial accountability 3. Reduction of FTE requirements in the linen area from 5 down to 3. These staff are now utilised in other areas within the General Services department. Aim The linen is delivered to the Wards / clinic’s covered, only opened once it is on the ward /clinic (per infection control) • To reduce the manual handling risks & injuries associated with linen being handled multiple times before being used on patients. 4. Improved compliance with Infection Control and AS/NZ 4146: 2000 Laundry practice in regards to handling, transporting and storage of clean linen. (Not bulk storage of linen as previous) The prepacked linen has reduced significantly the reported injuries that we had prior to the ‘Roll On Roll Off ‘ system being introduced 5. Reduce complaints due to improved customer satisfaction with the new streamlined delivery process . On average Nepean Hospital receives between 10,000 and 15,000 items of linen per day • To minimise the risk • of infection prevention & • control contamination Conclusion • To improve & better utilise valuable FTE resources ongoing review of improvements as a result of this project has identified other issues which are being addressed via the newly established “linen working party “ to ensure the continued quality & safety improvement process is ongoing. At the same time as we introduced the ‘Roll On Roll Off’ process we purchased a number of new generation ‘stock movers’ which allows our staff to drive the linen trolleys across great distances & levels of our expanding campus, while actually reducing any potential injury / visibility risk to staff & the public • Better stock control, improved efficiency & quality assurance in service delivery to customer that provides value for money • Implementing a more controlled safer stream lined process ‘from laundry supplier direct to patient’. Acknowledgements Nepean General Services, Corporate Services department, NSW HealthShare, NBM LHD Manual Handling, Risk Management department & Infection Control services