How to Choose Bed Sheets That Meet Anti-Microbial Standards for Patient Care Wards?

Ensuring the safety of patients and practicing infection control is always a primary focus of healthcare facilities. Bed sheets are a vital part of the bedding used in patient care wards, so their selection is important. Choosing bed sheets with anti-microbial properties is necessary not only to meet healthcare standards, but to protect patients, staff, and healthcare workers from deadly pathogens and cross-contamination. Technology continues to innovate and produce different options for bed sheets, but many sheets cannot meet the requirements for anti-microbial standards. This article is meant to give the reader the tools and knowledge to understand how to choose the best anti-microbial bed sheets for patient care wards.

Key Anti-Microbial Standards for Medical Bed Sheets

Before selecting bed sheets for hospital wards and patient care facilities, it is important to understand what standards are in place for bedding’s anti-microbial effects. Medical bed sheets are required to meet specific anti-microbial standards in order to receive certification from international bodies such as ISO 13485 Medical Device Quality Management System and to receive CE Marking for Medical Products. These standards ensure bed sheets do, in fact, prevent the growth and reproduction of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms and pathogens. Moreover, healthcare facilities in various other jurisdictions may also have specific guidelines such as CDC compliance to further enhance the safety and cleanliness of bed sheets used in patient care. When choosing bed sheets for healthcare use, it is essential to check their certification to ensure the anti-microbial requirements have been met.

How Anti-Microbial Bed Sheets Are Made  

The bed sheets’ materials determines the sheets’ anti-microbial effectiveness, how long the sheets will last, and how will the sheets’ bed sheets feel on the body. One of the materials used in hospital bed sheets and other medical applications is SMS Polypropylene non-woven fabric. This material is derived from virgin Polypropylene and it’s manufactured in a specialized way to get a bed sheet that has a lot of tensile strength, is water-proof, and is anti-microbial. Microorganisms will get blocked and the chances of cross contamination will get lowered. Another option is 100% polyester non-woven fabric made with advanced technologies that is strong and very durable. The fabric has a very soft feel and is lint-free. It’s also breathable, hypoallergenic, and won’t irritate the skin of the patient. When ordering bed sheets and materials to make bed sheets, the materials used should have anti-microbial properties, are air permeable, and are skin friendly. This is to make sure that the patients are safe and comfortable when the bed sheets are used.

Choosing Bed Sheets for Patient Care Wards  

Besides the material properties like being anti-microbial, other practical considerations are important to take into account, for example the size of the bed sheet. The bed sheet should fit the beds within the ward for a neat fit to avoid wrinkles that can attract and gather microorganisms. Second, single-use bed sheets are more advisable within health care environments as they can be thrown out rather than washing and reusing them. Usage of disposable sheets eliminates the risk of cross-contamination which washing won't fully mitigate. Using disposable sheets also eliminates the time and cost associated with cleaning and disinfection which improves the efficiency of the health care facility. Furthermore, bed sheets should have characteristics that make them faster and easier to put on to avoid increasing the workload of medical staff. Also, the bed sheet should be cost-effective. Selecting bed sheets that will last a long time while still being of good quality and reasonable cost.Verification of Anti-Microbial Performance of Bed Sheets  

When buying beddings it is necessary to confirm whether these beddings align with your beddings antimicrobial claims. One way to do this is to ask the manufacturer for certification documents and test results for antimicrobial claims. These test results should include the reported inhibition rates of common bacteria and viruses. Other manufacturers with an ISO 13485 and CE certifications like Mepro Medical Tech Co. Ltd will likely offer transparent results regarding their product. Another way is to do on-site assessments like checking the beddings for texture and appearance defects to ensure that the beddings meet the necessary quality standards. Other customers that are healthcare providers will be a great source of information regarding the beddings practical use and performance. Comprehensive validation will ensure the selected beddings have reliable antimicrobial properties.

Sustainable Development and Innovation of Anti-Microbial Bed Sheets

Sustainable development has become a major focus for the innovation of anti-microbial bed sheets as the environmental aspect of the healthcare industry undergoes transformation. As such, several manufacturers are launching biodegradable, recyclable, and eco-friendly bed sheet materials, such as 100% polypropylene non-woven fabric rolls. These bed sheets are also anti-microbial, and as such, are environmentally responsible healthcare products that offer a substantial benefit for the eco-pollutant legacy of healthcare. Furthermore, product design innovations are undoubtedly composite non-woven fabrics of enhanced barrier protection, breathability, and anti-microbial characteristics for bed sheets. Staying current on the most recent innovations of technology and sustainable development, healthcare facilities will be able to select bed sheets that are equally efficacious in risk management of infection and supportive of the ancillary environmental goals.

There are a lot of things to think about when choosing bed sheets for patient care wards that meet anti-microbial standards. First, one needs to evaluate adherence to applicable standards, material attributes, practical usability, performance assessment, and eco-friendly. If health care establishments put into action the advice in this article, they can choose, with a satisfactory degree of confidence, bed sheets that are of a good anti-microbial quality and bed sheets that can minimize the effects of cross infection and enhance the safety and the quality of health care delivery. Mepro Medical Tech Co. Ltd, a health care and medical equipment manufacturing company, seeks to meet the anti-microbial bed sheets and other one-stop service needs for health care establishments around the world by offering them excellent and competitive anti-microbial bed sheets.