St Francis Care Home Govan

St Francis Care Home in Govan, Glasgow is a 40-bed nursing home run by the Franciscan Sisters Minoress, a religious congregation who have been working in Govan since 1946. The home, registered to care for the frail elderly, has a Christian ethos but is open to all. Margaret Prele, administrator of the home, told us, “We see ourselves as a small part of a large Franciscan family, and all our residents, staff and visitors become part of the family that make up the loving home that we offer.”

The majority of the home’s flatwork laundry used to be outsourced, but last year a decision was taken to bring it all in-house in order to save money and also allow better stock control. Unusually for a care home it was decided that all bedding would be ironed. “We believe that those who live here deserve the best, including a well presented room, and to feel valued,” Margaret said. “Therefore we felt it was essential to go the extra mile and have all bedding ironed.” They bought a GMP electrically heated drying ironer from Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems, having had previous experience with the company – they already had washers and dryers supplied by Armstrong.

The home has a dedicated laundry staff who use the ironer daily, at least five to six hours a day. The staff have been trained to use the equipment by Armstrong engineers and, Margaret told us, “find it easy to use and are very happy that it reduces the manual handling and folding of large items.”

“We had one or two issues initially with the ironer,” she explained, “but as always Armstrong’s response time was excellent. If ever we have to call them, the engineers normally come out the same day and nearly every time can fix the problem on the spot. The Armstrong team are always efficient and well mannered, and it is a company we would recommend to anyone as they are very helpful and easy to deal with.”