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NHS: Infected Linen

Volume 708: debated on Wednesday 4 March 2009

Questions

Asked by

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to revise the Health Technical Memorandum 01–04 “The Management of Used and Infected Linen in the Healthcare Sector”. [HL1638]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with industry representatives on the revision of Health Technical Memorandum 01–04 “The Management of Infected Linen in the Healthcare Sector”. [HL1639]

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the revised Health Technical Memorandum 01–04 “The Management of Infected and Used Linen in the Healthcare Sector”. [HL1640]

The document Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-04 The Management of Used and Infected Linen in the Healthcare Sector does not currently exist and therefore there is no revision taking place. The current guidance associated with this area is HSG (95) 18—Hospital Laundry Arrangements for Used and Infected Linen.

The department is currently producing HTM 01-04: Decontamination of Laundry and Infected Linen (working title) as part of the suite of HTM documents that provide guidance on decontamination in the healthcare sector. HTM 01-04 is intended to provide a replacement for HSG (95) 18—Hospital Laundry Arrangements for Used and Infected Linen and provide a more complete guidance package on uniform and laundry decontamination to assist with the reduction of risks associated with healthcare-associated infections.

HTM 01-04 is being produced with the assistance of a wide cross-section of stakeholders who have been engaged in a formal steering group with departmental officials and the technical authors for the document.

The steering group is actively involved in contributing evidence and in the review of the draft guidance material. The steering group membership includes a broad range of industry representatives including, among others, the Textile Services Association and Sunlight Services Group as representatives of industry.

The approach and structure used within this guidance has been changed following consultation with the steering group members. The changes are intended to ensure that the guidance is equally usable and useful for both large and small laundry service providers. Improvements have also been made to aspects of the guidance concerned with laundry sorting and management at hospital ward level.

The department has commissioned additional research on the removal of Clostridium difficile spores from laundry. The results of this research will, if necessary, shape aspects of the guidance.

Department practice requires that the draft guidance be subject to peer review before final publication can take place. The department intends to publish HTM 01-04, subject to a successful peer review, during the autumn of 2009.