Australian manufacturer teams up to deliver reusable PPEs for healthcare workers

MedTech News: RFiD Discovery’s new partnership with Welspring, an Australian manufacturer of supreme quality reusable PPE (Personal protective equipment) gowns for frontline healthcare teams, to provide an integrated solution for the provision and ongoing management of multi-use protective garments.

The partnership combines Welspring’s expertise in developing and supplying high-performing and long-lasting protective gowns with RFiD Discovery’s experience in tracking assets in healthcare settings.

This combined solution provides a less expensive alternative to disposable gowns, whilst reducing the impact on the environment. In addition, the location of all gowns can be tracked accurately and in real-time to ensure that there is always sufficient stock available in key locations.

Working to ensure this vital element of infection control will never run out, even in major health crises, Welspring is pursuing an exceptionally long lifespan for its gowns of up to 300 washes, compared with a typical 75 from other providers. As it is still vital that gowns are used only for the specified number of washes, the RFID system automatically records the number of times each garment has been processed.

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To achieve this, every garment is fitted with a specialist RFID tag at the point of manufacture. In addition, with strategically placed fixed RFID readers to capture gown locations, healthcare providers also benefit from being able to:

• Automatically track items through the whole cycle of storage, use, transport, cleaning and back into storage for full visibility
• Monitor stock levels in key locations to ensure sufficient stock is available to satisfy demand
• Access valuable historical usage data to inform future planning and purchase decisions
• Ensure the correct number of items sent to the laundry are returned after cleaning to minimise losses and prevent waste

Simon Dawkins, Lead RFID Consultant at RFiD Discovery, commented “We are extremely proud to be working with Welspring to deliver this amazing solution which helps hospitals better manage vital PPE supplies whilst cutting costs and lessening their environmental impact.”

Brendon Rowse, Managing Director at Welspring said “In joining forces with RFiD Discovery, we are excited to be pioneering innovative, safe and high-quality solutions that will yield great outcomes for customers in the UK, Australia and beyond.”