Dundee Nurses In Uniform Storm

Nurses say they have had to be cut out of uniforms splattered with patients’ vomit and blood.

They claim the clothing poses a health and safety risk when contaminated because the tops have to be pulled over the head.

The two-piece uniforms, which were bought with cash diverted from hospital charity funds, are then disposed of.

A health boss has now ordered an inquiry after nurses at Ninewells hospital in Dundee raised concerns.

A senior nurse said: “We have to get cut out of them if a patient is sick all over us or we get blood on the uniforms. That happens a lot.”

NHS Tayside’s chief operating officer Gerry Marr said it would be investigated.

He added: “We have made a very significant investment in nurses’ uniforms.

“We have engaged nurses in the design of the uniforms but, if there are concerns about the tunic tops, then I really have to ask my director of nursing to look into this as a matter of urgency.”

In 2004, hospital trustees agreed to spend £400,000 of endowment fund cash – money from legacies and public donations – to partly pay for new uniforms for thousands of nurses.

The £10 tunic and trouser sets replaced flimsy see-through dresses.

However, concerns were raised because endowment money is meant to be used for extra comforts for patients and staff which are not provided by the NHS.