Case Study: Windsor Lodge Care Home - Improved management of clinical waste sets new standards

Looking after the needs of eight elderly residents, Windsor Lodge Care Home, near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, has a reputation for excellence and service. Staff at the home pride themselves on the quality of care provided, it gained a Top 20 award from CareHome.co.uk in 2015, and in 2013, won Buckinghamshire County Council’s “Dignity In Care” award.

The independent home has nine rooms, enabling residents to have a high level of personal attention from the dedicated team of permanent staff, plus access to communal areas and 11 acres of landscaped gardens.

Exterior of the Windsor Lodge Care Home
Exterior of the Windsor Lodge Care Home

A varied programme of activities ensures there is plenty to entertain and home cooked meals are available three times a day.

One of the important areas for both the management team and staff is that of waste management, and it works with specialist provider Grundon Waste Management to ensure this is handled efficiently and cost-effectively.

Debbie Dry, who manages the home, says the two organisations share a similar approach: “As a responsible independent business, we are conscious of our responsibilities to the environment and Grundon’s approach to recycling and environmentally-friendly waste disposal mirrors our beliefs.”

Grundon began providing waste management services at Windsor Lodge in March 2015, with a particular focus on clinical waste and offensive waste.

The home currently has a 360 litre bin used for the storage of offensive waste, such as incontinence pads, and this is collected every two weeks.

More recently, Grundon has also started providing the home with a mixed recycling collection service.

Grundon’s Lisa Hawson says Debbie and her team are always keen to adopt new ideas to help streamline the service.

“We talk regularly about how things could be improved and it’s clear that all staff at the home take a very responsible approach to waste management,” she said. “One of the things they wanted to explore was having smaller sacks to dispose of offensive waste within the home, and we were able to provide these, thereby improving the process for staff and making it more time efficient.”

Debbie says Grundon’s ability to listen to what its customers want is important, together with fact that the service ensures the home is compliant with all legislation, adding: “Grundon listened to our particular needs as an independent company and they provide a reliable effective waste management service, ensuring we are fully compliant with our legislative obligations.

“They provide a professional and efficient service and uphold the same values as ourselves. Their staff are always polite and professional and continue to advise and support us and the collections are at a frequency that suits us as a small company.”

Until recently, the care home has managed its own recycling in-house but has now adopted a Grundon mixed recycling container in order to further improve its recycling capability.

Debbie says the goal is for sustainability to be embedded within the organisation, as well as setting the best practice standard for other care homes.

Registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), an independent body responsible for the regulation and inspection of social care services in England, Windsor Lodge is also a member of the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire Care Home Association and recommended on the CareHome.co.uk website.

For more information, visit www.wlch.co.uk

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