Browsing by Author "Riley, Kate"

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    Antimicrobial Textiles for Medical Environments
    (Woodhead Publishing, 2016) Laird, Katie; Riley, Kate
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    Domestic laundering of nurses uniforms: what are the risks
    (Nursing Times, 2018-02) Laird, Katie; Riley, Kate; Williams, John
    With rises in healthcare-acquired infections (HCAIs) and antibiotic resistance, understanding transmission routes of bacteria is paramount. One possible route is nurses’ uniforms, which they wash at home. A study found that trusts’ policies on home laundering were inconsistent and that staff did not always follow guidance. Another study showed that, when contaminated and sterile fabric samples were washed at 40°C, a small number of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria survived and cross-contamination occurred. This article details the two studies, describes the regulatory environment and discusses how to ensure adequate decontamination of uniforms.
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    The Effect of Low Temperature Laundering and Detergents on the Survival of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on Textiles Used in Healthcare Uniforms
    (Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2017-06-09) Riley, Kate; Williams, J.; Davis, A.; Shen, Jinsong; Laird, Katie; Owen, Lucy
    Aims: To determine the survival of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on cotton and polyester and the effectiveness of low temperature laundering and detergents on the removal of microorganism from healthcare laundry. Methods and Results: Survival of E. coli and S. aureus on polyester or cotton was assessed over 3 weeks and the efficacy of a domestic wash (40°C and 60°C) and a range of detergents was also determined. Both bacteria were able to survive on cotton (5 log(10)) and polyester (0.28 log(10)) for up to 3 weeks. Laundering at 40°C resulted in a 3.5 log(10) removal of the initial 7.7 log(10) inoculum and some cross contamination to sterile fabrics (3 log(10). Increasing the temperature to 60°C resulted in the complete removal of the initial inoculum. Conclusions: This study shows that most of the microorganisms are removed at 40°C however, those cells still remaining may have the potential for further contamination to the clinical environment and patients Significance and Impact of Study: National Health Service (NHS) nurses are required to domestically launder their uniforms at 60°C to ensure safe removal of microorganisms, 33% of NHS staff questioned said they launder their uniforms at 40°C, which could potentially result in transmission of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs).
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    Improving Sustainability of the Domestically Laundered Healthcare Uniform
    (De Montfort University, 2015-07) Riley, Kate
    Sustainability is an important consideration in today’s society and all areas of textiles contribute to a negative environmental impact; in production, during the ‘in use’ phase and importantly, at the end of life. The use of fibres with alternative end of life options, such as recycling, to divert from landfill disposal, along with reduced temperatures for domestic laundering are becoming of increasing importance. However, concern arises when applied to the healthcare market, in particular, healthcare uniforms which could be contaminated with harmful microorganisms. It is common practice for healthcare uniforms in the United Kingdom to be laundered domestically by staff and, therefore, to establish current practices undertaken, a questionnaire to healthcare staff was distributed and resulted in 265 responses. Results were analysed to determine the most commonly used temperatures, detergents, frequency of laundering and items laundered with healthcare uniforms. The data showed that uniforms are not always laundered after every shift and the use of 40°C was common (33%, n=265). The survival of two frequently observed healthcare associated infections in hospitals, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, on the surface of polyester and cotton was established and the attachment analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy. These results demonstrated that polyester had the lowest survival of both microorganisms and less attachment was seen on the surface of the fibre when compared to cotton. Polyester was selected for textile testing and a range of development fabrics were created using variations in yarn type and fabric structure. Conventional test methods were used to determine the comfort properties of the fabrics created, with results indicating that equal or better performance can be achieved when compared to current fabrics used for healthcare uniforms. To determine the optimal laundering process to achieve removal of microorganisms from the surface of textile items, three household detergents along with a standard reference detergent were tested for their efficacy against E. coli and S. aureus at three temperatures (40°C, 60°C and 71°C) and three times (3, 10 and 15 minutes). A domestic laundering cycle was then simulated whereby an inoculated swatch of fabric was washed and tested for recovery of bacteria to determine the most appropriate temperature for use in the home. The results of the investigation indicated that a standard 40°C domestic wash cycle was ineffective at achieving complete removal of microbial contamination and could allow cross contamination to occur. The use of a 60°C standard domestic wash cycle was found to be significantly more effective, achieving complete removal of microbial contamination.
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    Sustainable fabric choice for regularly laundered healthcare uniforms
    (Taylor and Francis, 2016-04-13) Riley, Kate; Fergusson, M; Shen, Jinsong
    It is well known that blended fabrics dominate the healthcare uniform market for comfort and durability performance. These fabrics present problems for end of life (EOL) management by not being easily recyclable and concerns of cross-infection lead to disposal through incineration or landfill waste. Comfort of fabrics used in healthcare uniforms is important to the wearer to enable them to carry out their duties and therefore, choice of fibre is paramount to achieve this. The use of 100% polyester has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to polyester/cotton-blended fabrics, creating a recyclable EOL option. This paper demonstrates that fabrics using a variety of polyester yarn types show different comfort performances. The selection of appropriate polyester yarns and fabric with good comfort properties could lead to a sustainable future choice for the healthcare market.