NHS uniforms and colours

[tiffy 10]

Recently visiting a relative in hospital and having to wait for some time before we could actually go in to visit I became aware of different uniforms, dark blue, purple etc and it left me wondering what the colours mean. Do they mean the wearers have different roles within the hospital or if you're a nurse can you choose from a few colours.

Can anyone explain the uniforms/colours to me please?

[scoop 10]

Depends on the hospital - dark blue where I work is a band 7 nurse, In my sister in laws hospital it's a band 5 nurse.

 

Best way to work out someones role is to ask them, or eyeball their id badge - that may have more info on it.

[whitewitch 10]

I have to liaise with the nurses on wards usually in the northern gen and I too still get confused on who's who, the ward sister is the one in navy blue, the lilac is a staff nurse, the white with the blue piping is a support worker, I think the people in burgundy are house keepers and the people in light lime green are the domestics, I think the students are in white

[tiffy 10]

I recall the ward sisters wearing dark blue and I think auxillary staff wearing beige and white check from some time ago. What's purple then, I've been told this could be worn by district nurses but I thought they wore blue as well?

[muddycoffee 10]

There is no national uniform policy in the NHS in England, but they do have one in scotland. However, all hospital employees have an ID badge which gives their name and post so you should be able to see who they are and what they are.

[poppins 10]

There is no national uniform policy in the NHS in England, but they do have one in scotland. However, all hospital employees have an ID badge which gives their name and post so you should be able to see who they are and what they are.

 

Yes I've noticed that in the hospitals in Sheffield too, I think it's a good idea to colour code people positions, although I know in the US that some nurses in the ER don't want to wear name tags, can't blame them, they've been known to get threats from certain patients at times.

[iceblast 10]

I work on a ward in NGH. On ours its:

 

Sisters - navy blue

Staff nurse - lilac

Support worker - white and light blue piping

Student Nurse - white with blue rims on arms

Occupational therapy - white top green trouseurs

Physiotherapy - white top navy trouseurs

Domestics - Yellow or red uniform

 

 

Cant think of any others

[hitch_1980 10]

We also use green for play specialists, purple for pharmacy and red for theatres support staff.

[JFKvsNixon 11]

We also use green for play specialists, purple for pharmacy and red for theatres support staff.

 

Isn't red Xray?

[hitch_1980 10]

Isn't red Xray?

 

Not where I work.

[Miss_S_83 10]

Navy Blue- Sisters/Charge Nurses

Lilac- Staff Nurse

White with fine pinstripe I think and light blue piping- Support Worker

Plain white with light blue piping- Student Nurses

 

I get mixed up then- there's an orangey colour, a green colour and a burgundy colour whic are housekeeps, domestics etc but I always get mixed up who's who.

 

In Rotherham it wasn't the nurses who wore lilac but either the housekeeper or the domestic which was confusing, and the nurses there have a white and blue fine pinstripe uniform with navy piping, the support workers had the same tunic/dress but with lighter blue piping.

 

I think everyone should be in scrubs of their own colour choice

 

In all seriousness, it would be sensible to have all the same across the country, save confusion.

[poppins 10]

I assume the NHS supplies the uniforms, do they pay for the cleanings also ?