A trial of Talley’s Sylvan wipe clean duvets and pillows by Worthing and Southlands Hospital NHS Trust at Worthing Hospital has seen nurse bedmaking time cut by around 35% and identified a potential £108,000 annual saving in Trust laundry costs, while patients say the new bedding is more comfortable, less restrictive and lighter than “traditional” linen.
Pillows are designed never to collapse, reducing the number required. During the trial, originally instigated by the Trust’s infection control team, the Talley products were cleaned using TECare, a broad spectrum antimicrobial that kills and deactivates bacteria, viruses, moulds, fungi and spores and reportedly protects surfaces for up to four weeks.
A post-trial audit showed potential annual savings of £108,000, resulting in all unnecessary linen being retuned to the hospital’s linen store for redistribution. The Trust has now bought 560 Sylvan duvets, 1,120 pillows and 2,240 duvet covers.
Emma Cox, procurement specialist, Worthing and Southlands Hospital, said: “The staff and patients have welcomed the transfer to duvets from traditional linens. Patients felt secure, warm and less restricted, and nursing staff could not believe the reduction in bedmaking times. We hope to achieve similar laundry cost reductions at the West Sussex PCT.”
