This year will see the launch of WASHCO’s fourth Love Laundry Awards. WASHCO, a national supplier of commercial laundry equipment and service, created the awards in 2021 to celebrate the work that care home laundry teams had carried out during the pandemic. Emily Stoten, who created the awards, looks back at what they have learnt about the amazing laundry teams WASHCO works with.
As a provider of commercial laundry equipment, we can often obsess over the smallest detail on a piece of laundry equipment. But of course, the equipment is only a small part of any successful laundry. Every year when we read the Love Laundry Award nominations, it is clear that it is the teams and individuals who make all the difference in care home laundries up and down the country.
The theme which is most evident across all three years of the awards is the dedication and commitment shown by those who were nominated. Staff going beyond their job descriptions, working long hours, and even going as far as to come in on their days off.
Evident in the nominations is that staff go beyond their job description because of their connection with their residents and a desire to support them. Words such as compassion, caring, and listening to the needs of residents are frequently used throughout the submissions.
Looking back
Going back to the first awards in 2021, Annmarie Bradshaw from Etheldred House, Exelcare, was our first Individual Award Winner. Santall Horn, general manager, who nominated Annmarie, said in her nomination: "I frequently find Annmarie in one of the houses during mealtimes where she is assisting someone with their meal and when her shift is done at the end of the day, one would usually see her sitting down chatting with a resident. She also frequently assists staff with residents living with dementia when they are unsettled. None of this is asked of Annmarie — she does this out of choice."
Throughout the three years of the Love Laundry Awards, those who are nominated are praised for their resilience and adaptability as circumstances change. This was, of course, highly evident during the pandemic but is also a key part of day-to-day life within laundries. Laundry teams are continuously adapting and changing to improve their infection control processes, manage productivity, cover staff shortages, or take advantage of the latest technology.
This is an area where we love to support our customers. Within laundries, there are often productivity gains to be made without needing to change machines or change the number of staff. Lots of commercial machines have even simple technology which can be taken advantage of, for example, delayed starts. The washing machines can be programmed to start early in the morning before the day shift starts. Staff do not have to wait for washing cycles to be finished putting them ahead at the start of the day.
Even more simply, there are often efficiencies to be gained from behavioural changes. For example, making sure machines are always fully loaded or ensuring similar material types are always dried together.
On a broader note, attention to detail is often highlighted as a strength of the laundry teams nominated for the Love Laundry Awards.
In 2023, Caldy Manor, part of Barchester Homes, won the Love Laundry Care Home Team Award. General manager Hannah Roberts nominated the team: "We have a lot of respite residents staying, who have always said other homes they go to, they have things missing when they leave, but we are proud to say that everything is not only returned, but ironed, folded, or neatly hung. We have not had a laundry complaint in over two years now as they have managed this system so brilliantly."
In 2022, Anita Astle MBE, Manager at Wren Hall nominated the eventual winners of the Love Laundry Care Home Team award: "Most laundries in care homes struggle to return clothing to their rightful owner, but this is not an issue at Wren Hall. Our laundry team work collaboratively and tirelessly to maintain their orderly system, ensuring all laundered items are clean, fresh smelling, well ironed, and placed neatly in their owners' wardrobes and drawers."
Getting it right
At WASHCO we are aware that, for some residents, their clothes may be one of the few personal items they bring with them. This makes it even more important to ensure that they are cared for correctly.
We always encourage care homes to ensure that personal items are washed at the correct temperature. Occasionally we see care homes washing all items at the hottest temperatures which damages clothes, takes longer, and costs more. It is only red bag laundry which needs thermal disinfection as per HTM01-04 guidelines.
The winner of the 2023 Laundry Hero award, Waratthaya Watters, was commended by her housekeeping manager Claire Wallis because of her "excellent attention to detail and her commitment to her work. Our laundry processes high-quality cashmere garments that need specific care. Our residents have confidence in Waratthaya's ability to properly care for their treasured garments."
Teamwork and collaboration are another central theme throughout the three years of submissions. Laundry staff work together to cover shifts effectively and work with the wider care home team to identify and address potential infection risks.
When you examine the laundry process end-to-end, it is clear why working together is so important. From the moment the laundry is collected from residents' rooms, teamwork is central to success.
Whoever is collecting the laundry needs to be very clear on the process, wearing a disposable apron and gloves to protect themselves and sorting the laundry as soon as it is collected into sheets, towels, personal items, and red bag laundry, using trollies with separate containers. This minimises handling of dirty laundry, ensures red bag laundry is kept separately from other items, and is also more efficient, aiding productivity within the laundry. It also reduces the chance of residents' personal items being washed at the wrong temperature.
After the laundry has been processed, anyone in the care home who interacts with the clean linen must understand their part in protecting it and minimising any contamination. Ideally, clean linen should only be touched four times: when it is moved from the washing machine to the dryer, when it is folded, when it is stored, and when it is given to the resident.
Beverley Andrews, property administration manager for Sense Residential Care ,who won the 2023 Care Home Group Award, recognised the importance of staff understanding the part they must play. They demonstrated great laundry practices "by having made changes to our processes making laundry care a more important part of our business … our staff provide a safer and more hygienic service by installing better equipment and providing more information to staff about how to care for laundry."
The 2024 Awards
Nominations for the 2024 Love Laundry Awards will open at the beginning of June with the opportunity to win prizes for both individuals and care homes. The winners will be announced at Care Show Birmingham in October, and we hope that care homes will take the opportunity to nominate the people and teams that they work with. Long-term service and loyalty are a prevalent theme throughout the submissions. Lots of nominees have dedicated many years to their roles with a strong sense of belonging to their homes. They weather challenges, support changes, and remain committed.
The Love Laundry Awards were created to help recognise these sometimes forgotten staff and every year it is a fantastic opportunity to meet and celebrate those people who make a difference in care homes up and down the country.
Visit www.washco.co.uk/lovelaundryawards if you would like to be reminded when nominations open.
Emily Stoten
Emily Stoten is WASHCO’s marketing director. New to the industry in 2020, she created the awards out of a desire from WASHCO to recognise and celebrate the people they work with across the UK.
WASHCO
Tel: 08000 546 546
Email: info@washco.co.uk
Web: www.washco.co.uk
