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Antimicrobial added to linen service

Synergy Healthcare, the leading provider of healthcare support systems to the NHS and independent healthcare sector is to introduce residual action antimicrobial technology to its linen management services.

Synergy’s linen management service cleans more than ten million items of laundry, uniforms and surgical gowns every year and the service provides an end-to-end solution for Acute and Primary Care Trusts as well as the independent sector.

And now Synergy is looking to introduce a groundbreaking antimicrobial technology to the final stage of its linen management cleaning service in a bid to reduce the risk of linen becoming an infection transmission medium.

The technology will be deployed at Synergy’s laundries in Derby, Sheffield and Bristol as well as the company’s recently opened state-of-the-art facility in Dunstable which has the capacity to process more than two million items every week.

The company is looking to use Byotrol technology which is the key active ingredient in Synergy’s Assure range of antimicrobial hard surface cleaners and hand hygiene mousses.

The Byotrol technology means the Assure range offers a number of benefits over conventional alcohol based disinfectant and hand hygiene products. The technology is effective against MRSA and C difficile and most importantly it delivers a residual action meaning the technology continues to be effective on hard surfaces for up to seven days after application.

This means surfaces become residually microbial over time and thus reduce infection levels. Equally important is the formulation of the range which minimises the risk of healthcare professionals developing dermatitis as a result of extended use.

Synergy is looking to harness the residual action of Byotrol and add the technology to the final stage rinse on all of its linen cleaning services in a bid to reduce the risk of linen acting as an infection transmission medium.

The decision to introduce Byotrol technology to the final rinse in the linen management service is part of Synergy’s broader infection control offering which means the company is able to deliver products and services designed to address personal hygiene and disinfection of hard surfaces and equipment using the Assure range as well as management of airborne contamination with its AirCleanse product.

According to Anne Macmillan, Marketing Director of Synergy’s Patient Care Division, “The introduction of Byotrol into the final rinse of our linen management cleaning surface is designed to introduce a residual antimicrobial action to linen which will reduce the chances of bacteria being able to colonise linen and transmit infection.

“The combination of our AirCleanse system and the Assure range offers an integrated cleaning solution to healthcare providers that is effective against a wide range of organisms and causes virtually no disruption to a ward and requires no special procedures or precautions to be used by staff. The addition of the technology used in the Assure range takes our offering one step further and represents the latest stage in our overall approach to infection control.

“By addressing linen and uniforms we are targeting the one area in a healthcare environment which no-one has addressed to date,” Anne Macmillan adds.

Synergy Healthcare PLC

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