title: Washing uniforms at home: adherence to hospital policy.
abstract: Infection control is a priority for all hospitals to reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Textiles especially uniforms, are a possible route of HCAI transmission. There are protocols to ensure hospital laundry services meet accepted standards, however healthcare uniforms are laundered by staff at home and variations in practice occur. A questionnaire was used to conduct a service evaluation at four hospitals in different NHS trusts to determine how closely healthcare staff followed hospital guidelines on laundering and aftercare of uniforms at home. Responses showed that not all staff followed these guidelines; 44% of staff washed their uniforms below the recommended temperature of 60°C, which presents a potential route for cross-contamination and infection.
authors.affiliation: School of Design, Department of Fashion and Textiles, De Montfort University, Leicester, England.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Laird
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D003020:Clothing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D007846:Laundering / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013696:Temperature; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Domestic laundry; guidelines; healthcare uniforms; healthcare-associated infections; hygiene; infection control; textiles; uniforms