Theatre Scrub Caps
What makes your scrub caps the best?
My scrub caps:
- have been designed in consultation with hospital staff to ensure the best, most comfortable fit
- are fully lined and breathable
- are made to comply with the ACORN standard
- are hand-made with care to the highest standard
- can be custom-made to your preferences (tie or elastic, choice of fabric/pattern, can be made reversible)
- allow you to express your personality while maintaining infection-control standards
What is the ACORN Standard?
Standards are documents that set out best practice or minimum expectations for products or processes within a specific industry, and can only be published by an accredited organisation.
The Australian College of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN) publishes Standards for perioperative attire (ie clothing worn in operating theatres) in Australia, which includes headwear (generally known as scrub caps or scrub hats). The requirements in the Standard are designed to reduce the risk of patients developing surgical site infections as a result of the transmission of bacteria from the hair and skin of theatre staff.
What does the Standard cover?
In relation to scrub caps, the Standard covers things like:
- coverage
- material type and weave (must not be 100% cotton)
- stitching requirements and thread type
- requirements for laundering (frequency, water temperature)
Want to find out more? You may be able to access the Standard through your hospital, or you can purchase access through ACORN.
Do my scrub caps need to comply with the ACORN Standard?
The recommendations for scrub caps aren’t legislated but are often adopted by hospitals as Best Practice for patient safety. If a hospital chooses to apply any part of the Standard as part of its infection control policy or procedures, it can choose how, where and to whom the Standard applies. This means that although the scrub cap requirements were developed with nurses in mind, a hospital can choose to apply the Standard to some or all other staff working within operating theatres or within other parts of the hospital.
Conversely, a hospital may choose not to allow washable scrub caps, or may require you to cover your scrub cap with a disposable one while in the operating theatre. Please check with your infection control coordinator, or consult the infection control guidelines in your workplace to confirm your requirements.
How do I look after my scrub caps?
Scrub caps must be washed after each surgery, or at the end of each shift if not worn in surgery. Even if it looks clean, microscopic particles and bacteria can still be carried on the scrub cap, posing an infection risk to patients.
As per the ACORN Standard, hats must be washed at a minimum of:
- 65°C for 10 minutes or
- 71°C for 3 minutes.
Scrub caps can tumble-dried after washing. If you prefer to air-dry your scrub caps, iron the outer layer with a hot iron.
What if I don't fit off-the-shelf scrub caps?
I can custom-make caps in smaller or larger sizes to fit you. You can still choose between tie-back or elastic back and pick the colours and patterns that suit you.