Australia’s healthcare industry has been facing a linen shortage crisis in recent years. To better understand how dire the linen shortage crisis is, an article by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in February 2023 revealed that the union for healthcare workers mentioned that due to linen shortage, South Australian hospitals could not offer many hospital beds to patients. This led to long wait times and growing frustration among patients.

The United Workers Union South Australian public sector coordinator, Kimberley Rowney, stated that only five sets of linen sheets were available for up to 28 hospital beds. Due to being priced out by other businesses who are willing to pay higher costs to gain access to linens, there’s less priority given to the healthcare sector, when it comes to providing adequate linen.

Having the right amount of linen sheets in hospitals is imperative to ensure smooth operations in hospitals. That said, ensuring an adequate amount of linens are readily available in hospitals can be a tricky process, due to rising patient numbers and strict hygiene protocols. Traditional laundry management makes it more challenging for hospital staff to keep up with the pace required to provide freshly laundered linen sheets to patients in need.

For healthcare providers, investing in laundry software with smart technology with RFID capabilities offers a lifeline. By utilising the features of this software, hospital staff are freed from time-consuming and laborious manual linen counting tasks. This software also ensures optimal linen utilisation, which means that only high-quality linen is furnished to patients.

Let’s explore 4 ways this software can prevent linen shortages in the healthcare industry.

Bundle Track is a revolutionary laundry asset management system that can help businesses improve their linen management pipeline by simplifying and streamlining processes.

With its cloud capabilities, it can read information transmitted from an RFID chip embedded in a linen cloth. Information can be relayed from the software about a linen item’s location in real-time, decreasing incidents of lost items due to theft or misplacement.

This system can significantly reduce a business’s expenditure needed to replace lost items. Its user-friendly features make it easy for employees to monitor linen utilisation and track linen inventory statuses. With Bundle Track, businesses can maximise their cost-saving measures, boost workforce productivity, and improve overall ROI.