KANO TEACHING HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF LAUNDRY 

The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano which pioneered Maggots Therapy in Nigeria,  has once again become a trailblazer by establishing the first School of Laundry and Drycleaning Technology in Nigeria.

The School trains students on how to hygienically launder hospital bed linens, blankets and gowns worn by operating teams. The graduands are awarded National Diploma (ND) in Laundry and Dry Cleaning Technology. A Higher National Diploma (HND) programme may follow. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has accredited the curriculum of the Federal Laundry and Drycleaning Monotechnic for five years. 

The School was initially established to train staff of the Kano-based Teaching Hospital in the technology and skills of  laundry and dry cleaning services to meet the high standard and hygiene requirements of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. 

An online site, Doctors Laundry Services, explained what hospital laundry entails: “Hospital laundry services encompass a wide range of tasks, all centered around maintaining clean linens, gowns, and other fabric items essential for patient care. This service is not limited to just washing; it involves a whole process designed to ensure that every piece of fabric is spotless, sanitized and safe for use.”

Doctors Laundry Services said hospital laundry workers have many responsibilities: “From collecting soiled linens to delivering fresh ones, hospital laundry services play a pivotal role in the healthcare ecosystem. They manage everything from sheets, blankets, and patient gowns to surgical drapes, uniforms, and more. Their responsibilities also include sorting, washing, disinfecting, drying, ironing, and delivering clean items back to the various hospital departments.”

 The NBTE has approved that up to 60 students can be admitted per session by the School through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. Candidates must  meet the required credit passes in the sciences. 

 The School authority said that most of their students were sponsored by Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centers and states ministries of health. Some were self-sponsored individuals who chose a career in the laundry and drycleaning services.  

The School Principal, Mohammed Kabir Ahmad said a former governor from the Northern states sponsored 150 youths to the School. They were trained, awarded diplomas and given two washing machines each to start  laundry and drycleaning services.

Trycents.com, a web site said in a post, “the average laundromat profit margin ranges between 30-40%, making it one of the most lucrative small business investments.”

Students are shown the characteristics of different fabrics and how they behave in contact with different types of laundry soaps and detergents. So washing different fabrics is best done  with the appropriate soaps and detergents so that  fabrics will retain their colours, textures, quality .and become stains free. 

The training schedule of India’s National Institute of Open Schooling, indicates that removal of fresh and old common stains caused by tea, coffee, fruit juice, wine, blue/red ink, ball pen mark, lipstick, blood, rust, nail polish grass, milk, carbon paper, dye, butter, paint/varnish and mildew from fabrics required certain skills.

The Indian training schedule include teaching laundry students the differences between blended fabrics; knitted fabrics; polyester; nylon and acrylics and how these fabrics resist damage from  fungi, insects, sunlight, acids, alkalies and bleach 

 It important for hospitals to have effective laundry system and process for infection control. This is logically because as experts said, “hospitals are breeding grounds for bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Without rigorous cleaning processes, these could easily spread, causing infections and complications.”

 Doctors Laundry Services site posted that technology is now applied in hospital laundry. “Many hospitals are now using automated systems to handle their laundry needs. These systems increase efficiency, reduce human error, and ensure consistent quality.”

Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, advocate for Healthcare Journalism