The Hygienic-Sanitary Control as a Indicator of Prformance and Quality in Hospital Laundry

Abstract

The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) quotes in the Hospital Clothing Processing Manual (2009) the need for control and health quality in hospital trousseau washing. But: Which ones? How? How much? And how often should the health quality of hospital trousseau laundry be evaluated? Such are the gaps in the existing literature on the subject in Brazil. The current outfit is sensorially evaluated and is not the most appropriate tool to ensure sanitary conditions. Sanitary conditions should be measured with hygienic-sanitary indicators or biomarkers. This article aims to present indicators that can serve as measure for performance and health security in hospital laundry, and they shall be used as monitoring parameters and decisions for the quality of laundry. The method used in the article is documentary, bibliographical and exploratory with field study with data logging of microbiological analyzes of hospital trousseau parts. Data were collected in sampling from laundry in accredited hospitals in the Greater São Paulo, with quantitative analysis for the researched problem. The results corroborate the need for hygiene and sanitary control as a management and decision tool to be used as a bio-indicator of quality and performance of cloth washing in hospital laundry.