Safety

Physician, clothe thyself. . .in short sleeves

OSHA Healthcare Connection, September 25, 2007

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A national campaign to prevent healthcare acquired infections is affecting British physician apparel not only in hospitals, but also in the offices of general practitioners (GP).

Currently, the National Patient Safety Agency's "Clean Your Hands" campaign calls for hospitals to ban physicians from wearing the traditional long-sleeve white coat, neckties, and jewelry. Now, the agency plans to extend the campaign to care settings outside hospitals, reports GP Magazine, September 21.

Wearing short sleeves and doing without neckties should not be a problem, Dr. Laurence Buckman, chairman of the GP committee of the British Medical Association, said to GP Magazine, but wrist watches are considered essential to taking a patient's pulse.

Buckman said that GPs would abide by the campaign if there was infection control data to support it. For now, he characterized the moves as excessive for primary care offices since "community-acquired MRSA is practically non-existent," according to the article.



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