Staff uniforms within mental health settings

2-Sep-2012 10:06 am

I am against uniforms in mental health for any of the staff they accentuate the 'them and us' relationships between patients and staff which I find in this area does not send out a useful message. However, it should affect all staff and not just nurses. I find uniforms unnecessary unless they are there for a purpose such as are in areas where physical care is carried out where they are required for reasons of hygiene and protection of staff or patients. unless there is a large volume of work of this type plastic aprons or gowns could be used for any practical work depending on need.

However, I do not know whether uniform signifies authority in some areas which may have an impact on violence or what research has been done in this area and whether there is any conclusive evidence of whether uniforms protect staff or make them stand out as a target. Maybe this varies according to individual perceptions of clients/patients and their families and other hospital visitors.

11-Dec-2012 11:21 pm

as an original change agent, i abolished uniforms on my first day as a charge nurse 25 years ago, they are a physical barrier which in my experience hindered the effective forming of a therapeutic relationship.

2-Jan-2013 8:06 pm

I am looking to pilot uniforms in a mental health setting to include PICU acute and hospital at home teams. However having been given the go ahead we have been told WHERE we must purchase the uniforms from...an old style restrictive stripes uniform is not what we are after! Does anyone have any ideas..our patients are keen for us to wear uniforms and the staff want to be professional

18-Mar-2013 5:46 am

I run a Psychiatric Emergency Service within an Emergecny Department. I recieve frequent and regualr feedback from consumers, carers and clients that Staff in Uniform provide a higher level of confidence in the clinicians abilites, serves better to recognise who is a clinician and provides for a level of professional respect. My advice is ask the people we care for, the pervasive opinion amongst clinicians is that ones clothes present a barrier to the theraputic relationship is mythological. I even asked the inpatients of our services mental health unit...the answer was the same...nurses in uniform (and I'm not talking about candy stripes and nightingale hats, but a professional uniform) would help them to work out who is who and feel better supported by a 'real professional'.