Green Vale Laundry celebrates 30-year anniversary
On the 9th October 2021 Green Vale Laundry officially reached 30 years of continuous operation.
Based on the site of the new Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, South East Wales, the laundry was officially opened in 1991 by Mr Geoffrey Canning, Chairman of the Gwent Training and Enterprise Council and started life under the management of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority before moving over to Glan Hafren NHS Trust and then Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust on the 1st April 1999.
Green Vale remained under the management of the Trust and then Aneurin Bevan University Health Board until transferring to the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership on 1st April 2021.
During its 30 years the laundry has processed over 330 million items of linen which includes bed sheets, pillowcases, towels, operation gowns and scrub suits and has used the equivalent of 374 Olympic sized swimming pools of water in the wash process.
A readily available supply of clean linen is essential to the provision of safe patient care. The laundry is one of the few services that has contact with the patient throughout their journey in hospital from wearing an operation gown prior to a medical procedure to spending a night in a hospital bed the laundry is an essential but often forgotten service within the NHS in Wales.
Only one member of staff remains at Green Vale from the opening day in 1991, Wash House Supervisor Tony Cheadle, who started his career at St Woolos Laundry on 14th February 1983 before transferring to Green Vale when it opened in 1991.
Tony has seen many changes over the years, but he is particularly looking forward to seeing the investment and changes at Green Vale as part of the NWSSP’s Laundry Transformational Programme.
As part of Tony’s 38-year career, he was awarded a special commemorative tankard which was presented by Director of Procurement and Health Courier Services, Jonathan Irvine. Laundry staff also celebrated the anniversary of Green Vale with other members of the NWSSP Senior Management Group (pictured) including Managing Director Neil Frow; Assistant Director of Laundry and Operations, Anthony Hayward; Laundry Manager Peter White, Head of NWSSP Project Management Office Ian Rose and Unison Convenor Alwyn Hockin.
There are exciting plans for the laundry service which will be initiated over the next 18 months where the site will be refurbished and upgraded with new equipment and machinery to provide a modern linen service for the NHS in South East Wales. Here’s to the next 30 years of Green Vale!
On the anniversary of Green Vale Laundry Assistant Director of Laundry and Operations, Anthony Hayward said; “Having started my career in St Woolos Laundry 35 years ago as an apprentice Electrician it gives me a great sense of pride to part of the laundry team again especially at this time-of-service transformation. We should be very proud of the achievements over the last 30 years and look to the future with a great deal of excitement. “
Laundry Manager Peter White said “I am very proud of the team here at Green Vale who provide an essential service to the NHS in South East Wales. The laundry has a very bright future ahead with a significant investment planned as part of the Laundry Transformation Programme. We are all looking forward to seeing the refurbishment of the laundry and the upgrades planned to take Green Vale forward for the next 30 years”.