Colour-coded uniforms to help Welsh patients

Nurses in Wales will be given colour-coded uniforms to help patients identify their role and who is in charge of wards.

According to the Welsh Assembly Government, the new scrubs, which will be worn by 33,000 nurses, should end any confusion about job roles in the hospital.

From October, each nurse will receive one uniform for every shift in the week, with male and female staff wearing loose-fitting tops and trousers, while ward sisters will wear navy blue uniforms.

Clinical specialist nurses will be identified through royal blue, staff nurses sky blue and healthcare support workers green.

A dress code for other hospital workers is now being looked at to make sure it meets the needs of religious and ethnic minority staff.

Chief nursing officer Rosemary Kennedy said: ‘We do have doctors floating around with white coats flapping around behind them. We have got very lax.’

As well as introducing new uniforms, the assembly hopes to have laundries in hospitals so that uniforms can be washed thoroughly.

The Royal College of Nursing is now meeting to discuss calls to introduce a similar national uniform in England.

Readers' comments (1)

  • Wow! What a great idea, colour coded uniforms. So innovation is really about recognising that something's were really done better in the past. Nice to hear the RCN is also on the ball...

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