East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust has issued a strict new uniform policy for all staff after a series of complaints from patients.
Doctors and nurses face the threat of disciplinary action if they are caught wearing clothes which expose their ”midriff” or ”excessive cleavage”.
The guidelines also ban the Trust’s 5,000 clinical and non-uniform staff from wearing shorts, mini-skirts, denim or leggings while at work.
The six-page uniform policy was agreed in March and aims to establish a ”professional and consistent ” image which reflects the ”Trust’s values”.
It reads: ”Staff will not dress in ways that undermines the spirit of this policy and clothing that exposes the midriff, torso or excessive cleavage, along with wearing denim, shorts, leggings and mini-skirts, are not acceptable.”
Hannah Middleton, Unison branch secretary for the Trust, said the policy was agreed by trade unions and staff councils following a series complaints from patients.
She said: ”We needed a policy that covered all staff whether they were in the clinical side or non-uniform staff.
”There had been complaints from patients about members of staff baring their midriff and problems with health and safety as some had been wearing sandals.
”There has always been a policy but it has now been toughened up.”
Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8577151/Nurses-warned-over-cleavage-at-work.html.
