BROOMFIELD: Nurses return to wearing caps in uniform

NURSES at Broomfield Hospital are reviving an age-old tradition by wearing hats as part of their uniform in a three-month trial.

For years the iconic nurse's cap has been synonymous with the profession - but they have died out slowly, along with the some of the respect that old-fashioned matrons commanded.

Gwyneth Wilson, director of nursing at Mid Essex Hospitals Trust, said: "As part of the work that I am undertaking in relation to the patient experience, I have decided that there was a possibility that nurses wearing hats would remind patients of the value and professionalism that nurses bring to their care.

"As society has changed so have nurse's uniforms.

"They are less formal and a patient is not always able to identify who is a nurse and who is a therapist.

"Nurse's uniforms are synonymous with hats and yet hats went out of fashion in the early 1990s.

"Hats have been used to identify student nurses and where they are in their training with many nurses aspiring to become a sister so that they upgrade to a frilly one.

"The nurses with the armed forces still wear hats and look exceedingly smart and professional."

So staff on ward B29 at Broomfield Hospital in Hospital Approach, Broomfield, have volunteered to wear hats for a three- month period.

The nurses themselves, as well as patients and visitors to the ward, have also been asked to complete questionnaires to give their opinions on the caps.

And if there is a good response from patients and staff, the hats could become a permanent fixture of the uniforms worn by nurses working for Mid Essex Hospitals Trust.

Gwyneth added: "When the trial period is over we will go through the evaluation and decide whether to continue with the hats or not.

" I would be interested to hear from anyone who has a view on the subject."