Planning Theatre Linen for a New Hospital: Items, Quantities and Timeline

Planning theatre linen for a new hospital means deciding, months before opening, which reusable gowns, drapes, covers and wraps the theatres will use, how many of each, who will launder and reprocess them, and how they will be marked and stored. Start from the procedures the theatres will perform and the reprocessing route, not from a generic list, and leave enough time for samples, approval, manufacture and shipping before commissioning. A facility that opens with the wrong linen, or not enough of it, feels the problem on day one.

Start early: theatre linen has a long lead

Theatre textiles are usually among the later items people think about in a new-build, after equipment, furniture and IT. That is a mistake, because the chain behind them is long:

• Decisions about reusable or disposable items for each use.
• Agreement on the laundry and CSSD route.
• A specification and drawings for drapes.
• Quotations, samples and a laundering trial.
• Manufacture and, for goods made outside the UAE, shipping.
• Receipt, marking checks, initial processing and stocking before the first case.

Build these into the commissioning programme with dates, and assign an owner. The total time depends on the supplier and quantities, so ask for a confirmed lead time in each quotation rather than assuming one.

Decide the model first

Before counting gowns, settle three questions with clinical, CSSD and infection-control leads.

Reusable, disposable or mixed?

Many facilities use a mix: reusable textiles for some items and single-use products for others. The decision is about clinical requirements, documentation, laundry and CSSD capacity, storage and cost. Our post on reusable vs disposable surgical gowns covers the trade-offs. This post assumes at least part of your theatre linen will be reusable.

Who launders and who reprocesses?

An in-house laundry, a contract laundry or a shared facility each affect how much stock you need in circulation and how items are marked and returned. CSSD's folding, packing and sterilisation processes shape drape sizes and pack contents.

How will items be tracked?

If you plan to count reuse cycles, by marking grids, barcodes or RFID, decide before ordering so the right labels or tag positions are built in. Retrofitting tags or marking grids to thousands of items after opening is slow and disruptive.

Build the item list from procedures

Ask each surgical specialty that will operate in the new theatres for its expected procedure mix. Then, with the theatre manager and CSSD, translate that into textiles per case.

Step	Output
List expected procedures by specialty	Procedure mix for opening and first year
Define the linen used per procedure	Gowns, drapes, covers and wraps per case
Group into standard packs	A small number of pack types instead of dozens
Estimate cases per day per theatre	Daily usage of each item
Add laundry and CSSD turnaround	Stock in circulation needed
Add reserve for growth, repairs and losses	Opening stock quantity

Detailed par-level maths is covered in OT linen par levels. The point here is that the starting quantity should come from expected activity and the turnaround time of your actual reprocessing route.

A typical opening item list for a general theatre suite might include:

• Surgeon gowns in a full size range.
• Plain drapes in two or three sizes.
• Fenestrated drapes for the main procedure types, cut to your drawings.
• Trolley covers sized to the trolleys you have bought.
• Mayo stand covers sized to your stands.
• Instrument wrapping cloths in the sizes CSSD needs.
• Hand towels and table sheets if these are reusable in your model.

Confirm equipment dimensions from the actual trolleys, Mayo stands and tables delivered, not from catalogues.

Opening phase versus steady state

New hospitals rarely open at full theatre capacity. Activity usually ramps up as surgeons join, lists grow and services open. That gives you a choice:

• Order full steady-state stock up front. Simpler, but ties up budget and storage space, and any specification error affects the whole stock.
• Order an opening quantity, then top up. Allows you to adjust sizes and designs after real use, but you must plan the reorder early enough to allow for manufacture and shipping.

Many facilities choose a phased approach, ordering enough for opening plus a margin and placing the second order once the first weeks of use have shown which sizes and items are actually needed. Whatever you choose, make sure the approved specification is kept on record so the second order matches the first.

Budgeting the opening order

Finance teams in new hospitals often see theatre linen as a single capital line. It is more useful to split it:

• Opening stock: the quantity needed for the first months of activity.
• Reserve: items held back for repairs, unexpected growth and losses.
• Replacement: an annual allowance from the second year onwards, because reusable items wear out and are retired.
• Laundry and reprocessing: an operating cost that continues for the life of the items.

Presenting these separately makes it easier to compare reusable and disposable options honestly, and stops the replacement budget being forgotten after opening.

Specification, samples and marking

For a new hospital, the specification you write now will set the standard for years.

1. Write a full specification for each item. Our guide to the OT gown and drape tender specification covers the content.
2. Agree colours across the facility before ordering, so all theatres match.
3. Decide marking: facility name or logo, item type, size, department, and a batch or date mark.
4. Request samples, run a laundering trial with your chosen laundry, and involve CSSD.
5. Sign off samples in writing and keep a sealed reference.

If the laundry contractor or CSSD team is not yet appointed, involve whoever will run them as soon as possible. Their processes affect the right fabric, sizes and marking.

Storage and first processing

New theatre linen does not go straight from the carton to a case. Your CSSD and infection-control teams will set the route, which typically involves laundering or other processing, inspection, packing and sterilisation before first use. Plan for:

• Clean storage space for opening stock and reserve.
• Time in the commissioning programme to process the opening stock before the first list.
• Checking deliveries against the approved sample before items enter circulation.

Commissioning checklist

• Model agreed: reusable, disposable or mixed, item by item
• Laundry and CSSD route confirmed
• Procedure mix and pack contents defined
• Equipment dimensions measured on site
• Specification written and signed off
• Samples approved after a laundering trial
• Marking and colour scheme agreed
• Opening quantity and reorder point set
• Lead time including shipping built into the programme
• Storage and first-processing time planned

Next step

MISHAREN makes reusable surgeon gowns, plain and fenestrated drapes, trolley and Mayo stand covers and instrument wrapping cloths to order at its own production unit in Konni, Kerala, and ships them to the UAE for delivery across all seven emirates. Lead time, including shipping, is confirmed in the quotation. Share your commissioning timeline and item list through contact, or see the OT gowns and drapes page.