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2. In a non outbreak situation, would the linen skip be kept in the corridor? Is this a breach of infection control, as the others, such as residents can touch access the skips?
Thank you for this question posted to the Q&A from the Train the Trainer webinar (18/6/25).
As with all things IPC, there is no hard and fast rile- except for standard precautions! Many situations require the IPC lead to undertake a risk assessment before making recommendations for a particular practice. Table 5 on page 30 of the Aged Care IPC Guide explains this well- see https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-08/The-Aged-Care-Infection-Prevention-and-Control-Guide.pdf
Unless you have individual skips for each resident’s room, then have the skips placed at the doorway of the room being attended to at the time. Not inside the room with other’s dirty laundry in the skips. Immediately after use the skips should be emptied, cleaned and stored in a safe space away from the main living area- eg the utility hallway or similar. In an area where residents may touch skips, consider the risks- is this a resident who wishes to put their own laundry in the skip or is this someone living with a cognitive deficit who may inadvertently touch contaminated items? Depending on the situation at hand different approaches may be needed.
This is a great example of the critical thinking and problem-solving skills aged care nurses and IPC leads require- and it is what keeps the job so interesting.
All the best
Perri Waddell