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Thursday, May 29, 2008
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Going from green to pink

Ramya Kannan

Green linen will soon give way to pinks and whites in government hospitals

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

The laundry unit of the Medavakkam Primary Health Centre.

CHENNAI: If the boring, garish green of hospital linen and its carbolic smell have put you off government hospitals, here is why you can go back there for treatment: the formidable green linen will soon give way to more pleasant pinks and whites.

The colour revolution will start, as usual, at the bottom. In this case, primary health centres. It is part of the efforts to give the PHCs a makeover and enhance public confidence in them. “The greens will have to go. They have come to be negatively associated with government hospitals. Instead, we plan to go for white and pink colour linen for the PHCs,” Director of Public Health P. Padmanabhan says.

The Health Department has even figured out the aesthetics down to the last detail. When the rough greens go out of the window, they will be replaced by light pink sheets and white towels. Even the texture will be of superior quality, and they will be purchased from the private sector.

But is cleaning not going to be a problem, given that the nature of work will leave heavy stains—blood and other body fluids—often? That has apparently been planned, too. While some PHCs have acquired washing machines, giving up the conventional hand wash, there are bigger plans to set up large-scale laundry units, capable of undertaking huge orders.

Two such motorised laundry units have already been set up—one in the Medavakkam PHC that takes care of the requirements of Kancheepuram district and the other in the Banavaram PHC catering to Vellore.

They cost between Rs.12-Rs.15 lakh to set up, the more expensive one comprising a water recycling unit. While the Kancheepuram laundry was sponsored by the Catalyst Trust, the Vellore unit was set up with district funds. Each unit is capable of handling over 2,000 pieces at a time, Dr. Padmanabhan says. The detergent that goes in will also be of the finest quality and capable of removing the harshest stains.

If this will ensure that a patient is in the pink of health, the extra expense might be justified.

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