510
Generalized Needs and Requirements: Hospital Needs
Increasing labor costs have also resulted in an increased use of
disposables. This has simplified quality control and reduced hospital
based labor for many procedures. Use of disposables has also
increased the demand for soiled material storage in individual
departments and led to renewed interest in trash chutes, particularly
the pneumatic type.
Supply and disposal systems will continue to change at a rather rapid
rate for the foreseeable future. It is imperative therefore that space
configuration and building organization be highly adaptable with regard
to these systems.
2. Current Systems
The following summarizes the general patterns of supply and disposal
in use today. A considerable degree of variation and many
combinations of the systems described may be found.
a. Recycled Items
(1) Linen
(a) Process. Processed in the hospital or at a central facility.
(b) Delivery. Delivered to departments by cart or occasionally in
a tote box, usually on a 12 or 24 hour schedule.
(c) Clean Storage. Usually stored on a delivery cart or
transferred to shelving. Often bed linen is delivered directly
to the patient's room.
(d) Soiled storage. Usually held in plastic bags in a central
location on the unit or deposited in a trash chute.
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