Visit from Elise Archer MP

Elise Archer MP toured the Hobart operations today with Blueline CEO Michael Sylvester.

While Michael explained how the laundry works and introduced Elise to some of our Blueline team members, he also explained some of the challenges that Blueline has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sudden emergence and virulent spread of the coronavirus highlighted that Blueline’s protocols to identify, control and manage the laundering process of infectious linen are highly valued during a pandemic outbreak. As a laundry experienced in servicing the major public and private hospitals and aged care facilities statewide, Blueline quickly became an advisor to Public Health, embedding procedures critical for the state’s pandemic response and suppressing community transmission.

Despite all of this, Blueline had and still has, major challenges in being recognized as an “Essential Service”, and treated accordingly.

Blueline complied with the State Government’s direction to complete a COVID-19 Safety Management Plan, and contributed to the development of the template when the government reached out for assistance. Surprisingly, commercial laundries are considered in the same category as car parks, which undermines and fails to recognize the critical role that Blueline has played in minimizing community transmission.

Blueline requires sufficient volumes of the right PPE to protect the workforce, which has been extremely challenging as sudden worldwide demand made PPE procurement difficult and expensive. The Australian Government’s Health Department, who are managing national PPE supply, indicated that Blueline (as a commercial laundry) was not a priority. As such, Blueline has been forced to procure PPE directly from suppliers at significantly elevated prices. As a non-profit, community based enterprise operating a low margin business, that unexpected expense has had a viability impact.

We would like to thank Elise Archer MP for taking the time to listen.