Care Home Magazine April 2023

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Chief Editor

Jade Evans

jade.evans@cimltd.co.uk

Editor

Claudia Volpe

claudia.volpe@cimltd.co.uk

Editorial Assistant

Brooke Tremain bt@cimltd.co.uk

Publication Manager

James Davies

jamesd@cimltd.co.uk

Tel: 01795 509 112

Account Manager

Hannah Moody

hannah@cimltd.co.uk

Tel: 01795 509 112

Credit Facilities Manager

Lauren Sharpe creditcontrol@cimltd.co.uk

Tel: 01795 509 103

Administration Manager

Natalie Murray admin@cimltd.co.uk

Tel: 01795 509 103

Design and Production

Grant Waters grant@cimltd.co.uk

James Taylor

james@cimltd.co.uk

Tel: 01795 509108

Sales Director

Tom Woollin tom@cimltd.co.uk

Chief Executive

John Denning

Editor’s Letter April 2023

After the last issue being so well-received, we are delighted to be sharing another filled with some current and highlydemanded topics in the care sector.

Traditionally, nursing and care staff have always worn uniforms in line with easy recognition, hygiene and professionalism, so with the help of our industry experts, we are looking at the importance of uniforms in care homes and the benefits they can provide in terms of business setup. As part of the wider feature, our Essential 5 highlights five reasons why staff need plenty of spares; we also share a meticulous guest column detailing the rules around coloured uniform and why residents and their families should be informed on them.

Complementing our uniform focus is laundry - more specifically, the importance of organisation and adopting an ‘after-wash’ system. With many residents in a care home being subject to illnesses that affect their memory, we discuss labelling clothes and an easy-to-follow protocol. To conclude the edit on laundry, Girbau feature in our ‘Five Minutes With’ piece as they delve into energy and sustainability surrounding laundry.

We hope you enjoy reading this one as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Jade Evans, Chief Editor

Table of Contents

6 Industry Update

Care Home Magazine updates you on the latest news in the care home sector.

9 Uniform

With insights from experts within the care industry, we look at the importance of staff uniforms in relation to business at a care home.

18

Activity of the Month

Pet therapy is more than just spending time with animals; we look into the benefits of this practice and how staff can facilitate pet therapy sessions for residents.

20 Care Home of the Month

One of the newest additions to the Hallmark family, Henley Manor in Oxfordshire is a beautiful, purpose-built care home that can accommodate up to 80 lodgers. Our regular piece showcases stand out elements of the home and reveals how the team plan on gaining an outstanding status from the Care Quality Commission.

23 Laundry

From making sure everything is properly labelled to being able to spot early signs of an impromptu allergic reaction, we look into what it takes to establish an efficient laundry system.

Industry update

Fern Brook Lodge Home Manager walked 100km for Dementia UK

Friends of Sussexdown continue support of Storrington care home

Residents from Care South’s Sussexdown residential care home in Storrington are continuing to benefit from the unwavering support and funding of The Friends of Sussexdown Committee. The Committee hosted an Easter coffee morning on Saturday 25th March in The Bistro at Sussexdown.

The fantastic Committee, which consists of nine members, raises funds throughout the year by hosting events and generating

donations to provide facilities, extra comforts, activities, trips out and support for residents and staff members at the care home.

Pauline Webb, Chair of Friends of Sussexdown added: “We look to the future with much anticipation. Although we have continued to support Sussexdown during the Covid pandemic, we are now coming out of the difficult days and are looking forward to continuing our support for all the residents and staff in the years ahead.”

Poole care home resident enjoys visit to The Tank Museum

Residents from Care South’s Dorset House care home in Poole enjoyed a day out to The Tank Museum in Wareham, Dorset which houses hundreds of military machines from every major battle since World War l. During the visit, Resident, Dorothy spectacularly found the tank that her husband served on over 75 years ago during World War ll.

Much to Dorothy’s delight, museum worker, James was able to identify the tank using a photo that Dorothy had bought along with her. James shared stories of the battles that the tank had been involved in and revealed that his grandfather had also served in World War ll.

Sam Baker, Activities Lead

at Dorset House, said: “It was a fantastic day that brought back a lot of memories for residents in our care, particularly Dorothy who feels closer to her husband than ever before. We would like to thank James and all the staff at the museum for the wonderful and historical day out.”

Deb Wiltshire, Home Manager at Care South’s Fern Brook Lodge care home in Gillingham, Dorset set herself the challenge of walking 100km throughout the month of March with her dog, Pumpkin to raise money and awareness for Dementia UK. The charity provides specialist dementia nurses to those affected by all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and is running a March Dog Walking Challenge to help families facing dementia.

Deb has worked in the care industry for 40 years and is a dementia champion at Fern Brook Lodge, a role which oversees the care and experience of residents living with dementia.

Commenting on the challenge, Deb said: “I just wanted to raise what I can for the charity. Dementia UK’s research is moving in such a positive way that the future looks brighter for people living with dementia and for their loved ones. Having the privilege of working with people who are living with dementia and seeing how this affects families was the motivation to get on and do that 100km walk with my little dog!”

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SCAN TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WORKFORCE

Uniform

Essential 5

As part of our extensive Uniform focus, we outline five reasons why your care home staff need plenty of uniform.

Hygiene

Care home staff need to maintain high levels of hygiene to prevent the spread of infections and diseases as due to potentially having residents which are unwell and an infection proving life-threatening. Having plenty of uniforms means they can change into a clean one as needed, reducing the risk of cross-contamination.

Comfort

Due to the nature of the job, care home staff may be required to work long shifts, and having plenty of uniforms means they can change into fresh, comfortable clothing throughout the day or as and when needed. This can help to prevent discomfort, meaning work rate won’t decline as well as reducing the risk of skin irritation or infection.

Convenience

Having plenty of uniforms means staff can keep a spare set at work, reducing the need to transport them back and forth from home. Unfortunately, sometimes staff on-shift may be required to stay longer or cover someone in the event of an emergency so, this is a good way to save time and make it easier for staff to be ready for work at short notice should a scenario like this occur.

Durability

As part of their extremely demanding role, care home staff may need to perform physically demanding tasks whilst at work, and having plenty of uniforms means they can rotate through them to prevent excessive wear and tear on any one item. This can help to extend the life of the uniforms and save on replacement costs – something which is particularly important in the current climate.

5 4 3 2 1

Professionalism

Overall, uniforms can help to reinforce a culture of professionalism in care homes. By projecting a consistent and caring image through the use of a particular attire, care home staff can build strong relationships with residents and their families, and contribute to a positive and welcoming environment. In addition, having a clean, neat and well-fitted uniform can help staff to feel confident and competent in their role.

Staying on form

We delve into the importance of uniforms in care homes and the benefits they can provide in terms of business setup.

In general, UK care workers in both care home environments and in-home care roles tend to wear a uniform. Interweave Healthcare explained how the UK care home uniform typically consists of a tunic and trousers with sturdy, flat shoes and having a particular uniform can present a range of benefits to employees and residents alike.

Making staff easily recognisable, providing employees with comfort, boosted hygiene and looking professional are just some of the advantages of uniforms in care homes. The tunic and trouser combination is an extension of those worn in hospital wards and Aldersmead Care Home

explained how historically, it made sense to dress in a similar way as professional colleagues who worked in a different setting. They reported: “But now some workplaces, including care homes, are rethinking whether it is necessary or even desirable for all of their staff to wear a uniform.” Aldersmead Care Home revealed that the primary reason many give for liking a uniform on staff is the ability to easily identify a team member on sight. This can be very important for elderly residents whose memory is beginning to make it difficult to remember names and faces: “A uniform shows, at a glance, that someone is staff, and adding a name badge means

that, if a resident can no longer recall names easily, they can often read a badge, allowing for a more personal relationship.”

In terms of the overall business setup, professionalism is of utmost importance in a care home setting, being a key element in initially drawing in potential residents. At prominent opportunities such as open days, it provides care homes with a key chance to make a great first impression and the main way to do this is through their staff members. The overall appearance of someone says a lot about a person’s demeanour as well as their attitude. If you don’t have set open days, this could mean that you

have potential residents visiting all year round, meaning there’s all the more reason to ensure staff look presentable day in, day out. In line with this, it’s essential to ensure all members of staff have a decent amount of uniform, for reasons outlined in our Essential 5 piece.

With roles in care often meaning staff are prone to getting messy due to the nature of their job, keeping on top of a pristine appearance can be tricky, but by ensuring each staff member has a spare in their locker, this can be made easier. Another way to keep staff looking professional at all times is by ensuring their uniform is the right size… there’s nothing worse than something being too tight or too big and providing staff with a hazard! As a care home manager or operator, it’s your job to regularly check in with staff to ensure they have plenty of tunics and trousers and in the right size. This will only benefit you in the long run, by eliminating potential problems which may arise like a staff member having to wear nonuniform because their trousers have split from being too small, or a carer having to take a trip to hospital leaving the home short-staffed after tripping over trouser legs which are too long. It’s all about seeing problems and dealing with them before they arise.

Setting yourself apart from other care homes on the market is vital to ensure your occupancy rates are always booming. One simple way to do this is by going above any beyond and making it apparent.

When it comes to uniform, taking certain colours into consideration and the benefits they can present to particular residents will contribute to positioning you at the forefront of potential residents’ minds.

Uniforms4Healthcare revealed how stimulating the mind is essential to elderly wellness: “Mental exercising helps delay the consequences of dementia and various activities will contribute in this, including the choice of bright care home uniforms. Sensory stimulation is one of the methods

which help communication for people with dementia. It also reduces agitation and sleep disturbances.”

In particular, visual stimulation is very useful for patients affected by Alzheimers. The stimulation can involve light, shape, motion and colour. Some of these stimulations

can also help with bringing back memories. For instance, Uniforms4Helathcare revealed that looking at a sunset might help the patients to remember a similar scenario in their past; an old photo could bring some memories back too. Visual stimulation can also be produced in many different ways,

Bright colours can help with stimulating the minds of elderly people.

such as paintings, flowers, bright furniture and coloured care home uniforms.

“In fact, bright colours can help with stimulating the minds of elderly people as they create many parallels with childhood. For instance, it has been proved that playing with brightly coloured balls has a positive effect on keeping the mind active. Bright and coloured jigsaws also contribute to mind stimulations, since the mental process required is a good brain exercise. Furthermore, elderly people can be often affected by a sense of loneliness which can be replaced by warmth and security through bright colours, starting right from care home uniforms.” said the team at Uniforms4Healthcare.

According to Atkinson (2004), white helps the mind to be open, clear and receptive. Red helps with blood pressure, cold hands and feet hypertension. Soft yellow helps tissue renewal and mental stimulation. Green helps energising the central nervous system.

Turquoise helps with emotional anxiety or hyperactivity. Blue encourages rest and balances for over-activity.

For brain stimulating, opting for a coloured uniform could present your residents with a much more enjoyable experience over the

course of their occupancy.

In conclusion, the use of uniforms in care homes can be a controversial topic, with it providing advantages as well as disadvantages (read our guest column for more detail on this). Whilst uniforms can promote a sense of professionalism, they also encourage unity amongst care teams and can contribute to a positive work culture and high levels of job satisfaction.

On the other hand, some argue that uniforms can be stigmatising for residents and can create power

dynamic between them and staff, meaning some occupants may feel vulnerable and less empowered which can undermine their sense of dignity and autonomy.

Ultimately, the decision to use uniforms in care homes should be based on careful consideration of the potential benefits and drawbacks, and should take into account the unique needs and preferences of occupants. It is key to strike a balance between promoting professionalism and ensuring that residents are treated with dignity and respect.

How

The Eden Alternative Training

Enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life for all in any care setting through:

• Common sense

• Easy to understand, non-jargon concepts

• Nurturing non-prescriptive creativity

Eden is a not-for-profit training programme sharing decades of experience and knowledge. Together we will address the challenges of loneliness, helplessness and boredom within care.

All online sessions are interactive and hosted live: 1-hour, over 7 weeks or visit us in-person at our dedicated training facility in Dawlish, Devon over a 2 day course.

Five Minutes With

Evolve Care Group

In a Nursing Times survey in 2014, almost 60% of staff consulted indicated that they thought uniforms were an important part of the job. It is, like the uniforms, a multi-layered topic that generates strong opinions.

Evolve Care Group brings together decades of experience within the adult social care sector. The South West based group are providers of Dementia care who also inspire and educate through their Evolve Care Academy in Bristol.

It was this innovative way of looking at making progressive change within the sector that, eight years ago, led the group to begin discussing the pros and cons of not wearing uniforms. They made this progressive change of a no uniform policy which worked perfectly in line with their Household Model of Care. It would help them minimise the institutionalisation seen in care homes and promote the individualism of their team members.

When they shared with their teams across the group that they no longer needed to wear a uniform, by and large, the team members were delighted, but a few argued against it. One said that she thought that uniforms were important because they were respected and it simplified identifying senior carers.

At the time, Health Care Assistant, Rose Pearce, from the group’s Gibraltar Nursing Home in Monmouth said visitors needed to quickly identify who they could talk to about important care issues and argued to keep the wearing of uniforms.

Talking with Rose after the no uniforms policy was rolled out, however, she has changed her mind

completely: “It’s not often that I admit that I was wrong”, she told us, “but I was!”

She went on to say that within the first few weeks of giving up uniforms, she began to notice the people she cared for, who are referred to as family members by the team, started commenting on the clothes she and the other team members wore to work. “Nobody had ever commented on the uniforms before, but since but the change, we were regularly hearing comments such as ‘I love that top’.”

Rose also noted that the team and family members seemed more relaxed and began to realise how divisive uniforms had been, drawing a line between the carers and the cared for.

Being able to choose what to wear for work also meant that team members were able to choose clothes to wear that would be more likely to generate a positive reaction, such as wearing a particular football top when working with a family member who supported that team, or wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a horse and asking if anyone had ever been horse riding.

Although uniforms made it easier to recognise care staff, this was

primarily benefitting visitors to the home. For the family members, especially if they were living with dementia, seeing a uniform was not something they were used to seeing in their own homes and could increase levels of anxiety. Also, from the team’s point of view, uniforms could be uncomfortable and poorly designed, or cheaply made. It also seemed that some people had an antipathy towards uniforms. This may have its roots in our history of associating them with war or the emergency services or even school bullies.

Nocturnally, the night teams were encouraged to wear night attire, such as dressing gowns and pyjamas, so that if a family member woke in the night and saw a care assistant in pyjamas, this seemed normal. If the team member had been wearing a uniform, then this could have caused confusion.

Evolve’s bold policy change has won favour with the CQC. Inspectors found that no uniforms promoted an “inclusive family environment” and minimised confusion for people living with dementia. Evolve Care Group will continue to push for progressive changes in the sector that improve the quality of life for the people they support.

The power of pets

With the residents’ need for meaningful relationships while enjoying their stay at a care home, we look into how providing pet therapy can help reduce their mental and physical health issues while also proving to be a great marketing means for your establishment.

Pet therapy, also known as animal-assisted therapy, involves the use of animals (usually dogs or cats) in a therapeutic setting to improve an individual’s emotional, mental, or physical wellbeing. Pet therapy can offer numerous benefits for seniors living in a care home setting.

First and foremost, pet therapy can help to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. Care home residents may feel disconnected from the outside world, and pet therapy can provide them with an opportunity to interact with a friendly animal and form a bond

with them. The presence of an animal can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, providing a calming influence in an otherwise unfamiliar environment.

Founder of Therapy Dogs Nationwide, Eileen Slattery, said: “Being able to see and interact with animals, specifically our dogs that are calm, controlled and identifiable as they wear livery, will bring an array of benefits to residents. Representing an act of ‘normality’, it will even help them recall stories from their past.”

Pet therapy can also improve physical health. Interacting with

animals can be therapeutic in many ways, such as increased mobility and hand-eye coordination, improving cardiovascular health, and even reducing pain perception. Engaging with pets can also promote physical activity, especially for seniors who may be less mobile or have limited opportunities to engage in physical activity.

Care home residents who regularly interact with animals tend to be more active and engaged in their care communities.

Eileen explained: “Residents can get a bit bored following the same routine every day, so they are

drawn to a sense of stupor when we visit. We make sure to approach each resident, and they’ll have a chance to interact with our pets. I remember this one woman who hadn’t spoken for four years, and all of sudden, she was chatting away at one of our dogs!”

Pets have a remarkable ability to provide emotional support and comfort to seniors, especially those with dementia or other cognitive impairments. In these cases, therapy animals can help elders feel more grounded and connected to reality. Interaction with pets can also improve memory and cognitive functioning, as well as provide an opportunity for socialisation.

“Seniors can’t control much in nursing homes, but they can definitely save a biscuit for the dog for the following week – we deal with dementia a lot, and we know that it helps to create this bond with animals; if residents are feeling uneasy or restless, they calm down. The difference is night and day! Animal interaction brings in a whole new sense of camaraderie,” Eileen added.

Pet therapy can foster a sense of purpose in residents. Caring for an animal can help seniors harbour a feeling of ownership and responsibility, making them feel accomplished and useful in their daily lives. This is especially important in a care home environment when they may feel that they have lost control over their lives.

With advancements in healthcare technology, elders are able to live longer lives, and with longer lives comes a greater need for companionship and social engagement. Therefore, operators should introduce pet therapy into their care homes as an innovative way to boost business and improve residents’ quality of life.

“Volunteers will normally go once a week, but we do special days in case of birthdays or other events because it’s something for them to do, to talk about and reminisce about the old days,” said Eileen.

Introducing pet therapy into care homes can be a great way to

market the home and differentiate it from competitors. Families searching for a care home for their loved one may choose a care home because of its pet therapy program. This can increase occupancy rates and overall revenue for the care home.

Operators can also use pet therapy to increase employee job satisfaction. Interacting with animals can have positive psychological effects on employees, which can lead to a more positive work environment. This can also reduce

staff burnout and turnover rates, leading to higher quality care for the residents.

In conclusion, pet therapy is a beneficial and innovative way for operators to improve their residents’ quality of life, differentiate their business from competitors, and improve employee job satisfaction. By introducing pet therapy into care homes, operators can improve the emotional, physical, and social wellbeing of seniors in their care and increase revenue for their businesses.

Care Home of the Month Henley Manor Care Home

Care Home Magazine caught up with Ellie Faramarzian, the General Manager of one of Hallmark’s state-of-the-art care homes, Henley Manor, to find out exactly what makes it special.

After being opened in January 2020 by 106-year-old Eileen Symonds, who was one of Hallmark’s oldest residents at the time, Henley Manor are now successfully achieving their goal of providing high-quality relationshipcentred care for their residents.

The home has been carefully designed to reflect the local area and has state of the art facilities such as; a homely café, luxurious

hair salon and therapy room and beautiful landscaped gardens.

Ellie explained how the additional spaces provide opportunities for residents to access and participate in activities that they always used to enjoy doing with support from a dedicated team. She said: “Our cinema is one of the most popular areas of the home, residents do their morning exercise classes in this area such as virtual yoga and a chair-based exercise session as well as watching their favourite movies, documentaries and virtual tours from around the world.”

Watching football and rugby or tennis on the big screen, Ellie explained, is another pleasurable

activity for residents as it brings everyone together. Henley Manor also boasts a putting green area, which is used every day during the summer: “Our residents enjoy a bit of competition and tournaments and enjoy playing with their grandchildren too.”

One of the main elements Henley Manor prides itself on is the high level of dining as it provides occupants with nutritious, delicious and beautifully presented meals: “Our spring, summer, autumn and winter menus are designed by our talented chefs with our residents’ involvement” said Ellie. She revealed how residents can choose from three options for each meal, they

have access to a three-course lunch and dinner served with alcohol as well as fresh pastries, biscuits and cakes throughout the day.

“Meal times are some of the highlights of the day for our residents, we source our ingredients locally and everything is cooked fresh” Ellie added. Having a balanced and nutritional diet can reduce the risk of many diseases, falls and serious injuries and infection, however, apart from the physical benefits of a good nutritional intake, we all know that food plays an important part in daily life and resident wellbeing.

The home’s fine dining experience doesn’t always have a direct impact on their occupancy; it does however have a huge impact on their customer satisfaction and reputation, which consequently is positively impacting Henley Manor’s growth.

With a good reputation being key to a home’s success, Ellie revealed how Henley Manor have already achieved one outstanding domain on their CQC report, which was the first report since opening: “We are aiming to gain an overall outstanding rating on our next CQC inspection.

“Our aim is to improve the quality of life for our residents day by day and we plan to achieve this through our relationship centred care approach to care delivery. Quality and customer service is at the heart of everything we do at Henley Manor, and our team are just fantastic.”

Feedback is a way of improving service and Henley Manor celebrate positive feedback and listen and learn lessons from negative feedback. Gathering their feedback through direct contacts, surveys and forums and following a cohesive feedback policy has been really beneficial to the overall business at the home. Ellie finished by revealing that as a testament to their care delivery, Henley Manor have a 9.9 out of 10 care home review rating on carehome.co.uk and are currently working towards achieving a 10.

www.hallmarkcarehomes.co.uk

Laundry

Five Minutes With

Peter Rankin, Managing Director at Girbau UK, on care home on-premise laundry.

Our Sapphire internet-enabled monitoring software allows you to control and verify that disinfection parameters have been met in each wash cycle. It is easy to create disinfection criteria based on time and temperature for each program. The system verifies that disinfection parameters have been met in each cycle and can be configured to issue an alert if for any reason a cycle has or has not fulfilled a disinfection condition.

We can advise on all aspects of laundry design and operation to meet (HTM) 01-04 requirements for laundry decontamination, including machine choice, laundry layout, disinfection, safe handling and operating procedures.

How

Girbau

Girbau’s innovative new GENIUS Series Internet-enabled washers are designed to lower water and energy consumption while boosting productivity. The high-spin washers can achieve up to a market-leading 450G extract force for the highest levels of water extraction, leading to faster drying and lower energy.

times and lower energy costs, while cabinet insulation and a doubleglazed door also prevent heat escaping.

We are also working with care providers looking to decarbonise their laundry operations by switching from gas to electric dryers and buying 100% renewable electricity.

How can care homes use their laundry routine/ equipment as a means of marketing to appeal to new residents?

The design of care home laundry rooms is key to maintaining an effective regime for laundry hygiene and remaining CQC compliant. This should include separate entrance and exit doors, and the clear demarcation of clean and dirty areas with a well-designed workflow that ensures no crosscontamination of clean and redbagged, foul linen.

Genius washers also reduce energy consumption by up to 15%. Tests on the Genius GS7018 found that it used 2.5 kWh for a full 18kg load cycle, compared to 3.5kWh for a comparable washer from a leading competitor. With each kWh costing around 50p, that’s a saving of £1,460 a year if you operate eight cycles a day.

The unique Transflow technology on our premium ED series dryers combines radial and axial airflow for maximum efficiency, reduced cycle

Hygiene has always been paramount in care settings and that applies everywhere in the home from the kitchen to the laundry. Residents and their families may have a heightened awareness of the importance of hygiene postpandemic and will be reassured to know that your home has laundry hygiene designed into both the layout and every day working practices.

Anything else to add?

With on-premise laundry facilities being essential to the smooth running of care homes, maintenance and servicing remain key considerations. With a team of company-trained engineers and direct access to the factory for spare parts, Girbau can respond quickly to any urgent customer calls with high levels of first-time fixes and the shortest downtime. Our service operation supports on-premise laundry rooms for every type and scale of business, from single premises to nationwide multi-site operations.

Tel: 01462 427780

Email: sales.uk@girbau.com

Website: www.girbau.com

With hygiene being so important, what kind of solutions can Girbau offer to ensure laundry is a simple process?

Is there a specific, easy- to-follow routine care homes should adopt post-wash that you can recommend?

do

work in line with the increased demand for sustainable services?

Keep it clean

As part of our extensive in-home laundry focus, we look at how laundry can work in line with maintaining hygiene standards and the policies you should be looking to keep up with.

In care and residential homes, the threat of infection is always front of mind. One area that care professionals shouldn’t overlook when mitigating the spread of infection is laundry management. By implementing best practice procedures when it comes to the handling, laundering and storage of soiled linen, you can ensure vulnerable residents, staff, and visitors are better protected from harmful bacteria and viruses.

Nicola Whittaker, National Account Manager at Miele Professional, shared some of her key considerations in order to minimise cross-contamination and keep your care home a hygienic space.

When handling dirty laundry, Nicola advises staff to wear singleuse aprons, gloves and other

types of PPE: “Contaminated PPE should be removed and disposed of correctly before moving on to other tasks such as handling clean laundry, to avoid spreading infection.” added Nicola.

Nicola explained how dirty laundry must be handled with care even before the washing process, to minimise the possibility of dispersing viruses through the air: “Dirty laundry should be kept completely separate from clean and, if possible, in a separate room. It should not be placed on the floor

or other surfaces that could risk cross-contamination.”

In terms of washing dirty laundry, Nicola spoke about how selfopening bags should be loaded into the machine without removing the contents, as this allows them to unwrap automatically during the wash process, as long as the drawstring has been released, and prevents further spread of infection.

When it comes to laundry cycles, Nicola explained that staff should only use programmes with thermo or chemo-thermo disinfection wash

Staff should also make sure the prescribed quantity of detergent is properly measured.

cycles to ensure optimum hygienic results. The Department of Health’s Health Technical Memorandum

01-04 states that washing should be held at either 71⁰C for at least three minutes, or 65⁰C for at least 10 minutes, for effective thermal decontamination to take place.

“Staff should also make sure the prescribed quantity of detergent is properly measured and that an appropriate temperature for the specific detergent is set when manually dispensing detergent.

“Items contaminated with bodily fluids should not be manually sluiced. Washable soiled items need to be placed into an alginate bag/ water-soluble bag and staff should wear gloves and an apron for this process.” added Nicola.

Storing clean laundry is key in ensuring optimum hygiene at a care home, and care should be taken to ensure that the material of the linen is fit for the purpose for which it is intended, that the linen both looks clean and is clean, and that it is not

damaged or discoloured.

Nicola said: “Staff should also keep an eye on the condition of processed items that come out of the machine to ensure they are clean and not damaged in any way.”

By following this best practice guidance, you can be confident that infection is controlled throughout the laundry process.

Any organisation washing soiled or contaminated linen must adhere to the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS) Category 5 waste

water regulations. These regulations prevent contaminated water from entering into the water supply and although many commercial washing machines are designed to meet them, some are not. Check with your service provider that all of your washing machines are compliant. If not, they will need to advise on remedial action to comply with regulations.

Experts in commercial laundry, JTM Service, explained that once any washing is complete, there are a variety of appliances which can help to make sure garments and linen are left in the best possible condition before being returned to rooms. The team stated: “Rotary ironers can drastically reduce the amount of time needed to iron linen without compromising on results, while ironing tables provide a solid base for finishing garments, complete with a large iron, steam generator and vacuum table.”

In terms of the frequency of laundering, a report on the safe management of linen in July 2020 by the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust explained that linen and resident’s clothing should be laundered whenever visibly soiled, or at least weekly in order to maintain high levels of hygiene.

The report included details such as: “Reusable hoist slings should be laundered regularly (frequency will

depend on use and the resident) and whenever visibly soiled. Hoist slings should be single patient use, e.g. labelled for use by a named resident and should not be used by any other person.

“Residents’ face cloths, body scrunchies and towels, should be laundered after each use. A documented programme should also be in place for routine cleaning of curtains, for example, laundry or steam cleaning 6-12 monthly, and whenever visibly soiled.”

The Community Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Team have produced a wide range of innovative educational and IPC

resources designed to assist your care home in achieving compliance with The Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections, related guidance, and CQC registration requirements which can be found online.

Reducing infection in care homes requires a multi-faceted approach, and proper laundry practices can play an important role. By following these guidelines and the advice from our industry experts in this piece, you can reduce the risk of infection transmission through laundry and promote a safer environment for staff and residents.

Any organisation washing soiled or contaminated linen must adhere to the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme.

GET IN TOUCH

We’d love to hear from you on how your business is progressing in 2023. Specifically, any new ideas you’ve implemented, any ways you are making additional revenue, your sustainability initiatives and your plans for the rest of the year – we know that a lot of you are doing inspiring things every day in your businesses and we want to give you the opportunity to shout about it.

Please reach out to jamesd@cimltd.co.uk for the opportunity to be featured in Care Home Magazine.

Essential 5

With staff looking after occupants in every aspect, here are five tips you can follow to ensure your laundry and labelling system is running smoothly within your care home to minimise confusion amongst residents and team members alike.

Establish a clear labelling system

It’s important to create a clear and concise labelling system for all residents’ clothes and belongings, especially considering that some of them may suffer from cognitive impairments leading to dementia. Make sure to use permanent markers and waterproof labels to ensure they don’t fade or get lost in the wash; this will also allow you to return items quickly and correctly, without having to rely on the residents’ memory.

Keep track of residents’ clothing

Create a checklist or an inventory system to keep track of residents’ clothing and ensure that everything is returned to the right person. Even when your labelling is up to scratch, the voluminous amount of laundry to go through every week – including linens – may cause confusion. A tracking system can help prevent mix-ups and reduce the chance of items going missing.

3 2 1

Use high-quality equipment

When dealing with big cargo, there is no space for compromise: invest in high-quality washing machines and dryers that can handle the volume of laundry required in a senior care setting. Choose machines that are easy to operate and that have features like temperature control and cycle selection – this will not only ensure that all items are spotless, but also help you save on costs as modern equipment is designed to help manage water and energy usage.

4

Train staff members

Ensure that all staff members are properly trained on how to do laundry and know how to follow the labelling and inventory system that has been put in place. This can help reduce errors and ensure that everything runs smoothly, not to mention that it will allow you to have a rotating system so that every team member can help with the workload. It is also important to consider that, with care homes being medically orientated establishments, efficiently trained staff will reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

5

Set a maintenance schedule

No matter how avant-garde your equipment is, it won’t last unless you look after it properly! Create a routine cleaning schedule for washing machines and dryers to keep them in good working condition and ensure maximum performance. Regularly inspecting machines to prevent breakdowns will also help extend their lifespan. Remember: a well-maintained laundry facility can save time and money in the long run.

Dishing up

This month, Vegetarian for Life (VfL) shares the recipe guide to a mouth-watering Mango and Ginger Cheesecake (IDDSI level 2 mildly thick).

Vfor Life (VfL) was launched to ensure that people can maintain their veganism or vegetarianism (veg*nism) throughout their whole lives. The organisation support those living independently, as well as those in care and their loved ones, by providing services such as diet and healthy living advice, through to grants and a pen and phone-pal scheme.

People rarely envision themselves needing care when they get older. Yet 410,000 people – about the population of Bristol – live in care homes in the UK today. Currently, veg*ns make up only a very small amount of these care homes’ residents, but the number is rising.

VfL is working across the UK to make sure that care establishments can cater well and ethically for older veg*ns. We seek to do this through their UK List, which details every organisation and care home that makes a special effort to cater for older vegans and vegetarians. Despite the growing acceptance of veg*nism today, unfortunately

Ingredients

50g/1¾oz ginger biscuits

250g/8¾oz silken tofu

½ tsp vanilla extract

75g/generous 2½oz puréed

mango

100g/3½oz vegan cream cheese

(Philadelphia Plant-Based works well)

50g/1¾oz soya cream

1 tbsp maple syrup or to taste

*Serves 4

*Preparation time: 10 minutes plus overnight to stand

there are still many cases where people in care have been served meat against their wishes. VfL wants veg*nism to be as well respected as halal and kosher meal requirements – and this extends to the issue of dementia. If a Muslim or Jewish resident with dementia requested pork, usually there would be great reluctance to provide it. While veg*nism is not a religion, for many veg*ns it is the strongest belief they have.

Meeting the needs of a diverse range of older people is important to VfL. The charity strives to be the first port of call for information, support and advice for older vegans, vegetarians, their families, friends, and a broad range of care caterers.

Steps

1. Place the biscuits into a blender in order to make a crumb mixture. Divide the crumb mixture into 4 separate individual serving dishes.

2. Purée the tofu, vanilla extract, mango, cream cheese and soya cream together. Taste and add maple syrup to suit.

3. Add the mixture to the serving dishes and place into the fridge overnight. This stage is important to allow the mixture to slightly thicken but also to ensure the biscuits have become completely soft and moistened, because any dry crumb can be a choking hazard.

4. Test before serving.

For more information about VfL’s free support for care homes, visit vegetarianforlife.org.uk

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