The cubicle curtain is one of the most touched textiles in any hospital. It is grabbed at hand height hundreds of times a week — by patients, visitors and gloved and ungloved staff alike — and studies have repeatedly found ward curtains contaminated with exactly the organisms infection-control teams worry about. That is why so many trusts have moved from traditionally laundered curtains to disposable antimicrobial ones, and why we supply and fit them across the UK.
The problem with the laundry cycle
Laundering fabric curtains works, but the logistics fight against it. Taking down, bagging, transporting, washing and re-hanging a ward's curtains is disruptive enough that change frequencies slip — and a curtain is only as clean as the time since it was last changed. Miss a cycle and the curtain simply stays up. There is also the hidden stock problem: a laundered system needs roughly double the curtains you see hanging, because a full set is always away being washed.
How disposable systems change the routine
Disposable antimicrobial curtains are hung once and replaced — typically on a planned cycle of several months, or immediately after an infection event, a deep clean or visible soiling. The practical advantages compound:
- Changing is quick. One person with a step stool can strip and re-hang a bay in minutes, so change frequencies are actually kept.
- Every change is documented. Date-labelling on the curtain makes compliance visible to matrons and auditors at a glance.
- The antimicrobial treatment works between changes, inhibiting bacterial growth on the fabric surface throughout its hanging life.
- No laundry logistics — no double stock, no transport, no re-hang backlog.
Modern disposable curtains are also far from flimsy: they are fire-retardant, tear-resistant, and available in ward-friendly colours, and end-of-life recycling schemes now exist for several ranges.
Counting the real cost
Comparing a disposable curtain's unit price with a fabric curtain's misses the point. The honest comparison is cost per bay per year, including laundering, transport, replacement of lost and damaged stock, and staff time. Run that way, disposable systems are usually comparable or cheaper — and the infection-control benefit of changes that actually happen on schedule is the reason trusts rarely switch back.
We supply disposable and antimicrobial curtains with compatible track systems, and our fitters routinely install in live clinical environments around patients and care. If your trust is weighing up the switch, we can help you build the comparison for your own wards.