Industrial washing machines and dryers used by the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital have broken down, but patients have been unaffected, according to the Bermuda Hospitals Board.A board spokeswoman said yesterday that only two of its four washers and two of its five dryers were working. She said the three broken dryers were being repaired and were expected to return to service shortly, while parts had been ordered from overseas to fix the two washers.“Patient care at BHB hasn’t been impacted by some repair work that is under way in the laundry department,” the spokeswoman said.“Laundry is a vital support service for our hospitals. Longer-term, it remains our plan to upgrade the laundry, as our equipment is ageing and requiring more frequent repairs.”She added: “To ensure the laundry service is not ever interrupted, we have an agreement with a commercial laundry service who are able to assist when needed and ensure patient care is not impacted.”The BHB has four heavy-duty washing machines, including one that has not been used in years. The three operational machines suffered breakdowns earlier in the year, in February and March, as the island was preparing to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.The spokeswoman said yesterday that the board was working to fix one of the operational machines, as well as the washer which has long been out of commission.The board said in March that it planned “a more extensive laundry upgrade with new equipment” and that this was “currently going through internal approval processes”.