Maha govt goes in for a dress change of nurses

The Maharashtra government has decided to go in for a change in the conventional uniforms of nurses, where females will now be required to wear beige salwar suits and sarees on duty while males would put on similar coloured shirts and pants along with white aprons.
According to a Government Resolution (GR), the decision has been taken post consultations and consent of the Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation (MGNF), who have been complaining about the difficulties faced while working in white frocks in busy tertiary care hospitals.
The government has mandated around 20,000 nurses across the state to wear beige coloured uniforms while on duty.

It has also mandated matrons to wear uniforms noticing that they often took the liberty of not adhering to the uniform rule in hospitals.
Kamal Vaykole, Secretary, MGNF said, "We were fighting for this uniform since a long as too many problems crop up in the white one, including those uniforms getting dirty very easily."
The MGNF also contended that maintaining a white dress/frock along with an apron and cap was difficult and moreover where female nurses had to climb staircases or handle patients at odd hours and places.

"We think that a saree or a salwar kameez would be more practical and beige colour would be easier to maintain than spotless white," Vaykole said.

The GR also said it is mandatory for nurses to wear a designation bearing belt on the apron.
MGNF had filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court five years ago, demanding a change in the traditional white frocks, considering the discomfort while functioning in busy wards.
The nurses had said that since many patients usually sleep on the ground, working became difficult for them.
The state government, as per the high court order dated August 20, 2011, had formed a three-member committee, headed by Dr T P Lahane, dean of J J Hospital and Grant Medical College to submit their suggestions.

Government officials subsequently requested the representatives to withdraw the petition and assured them that a final decision will be taken on the matter soon.
After the petition was withdrawn by the MGNF, the committee, in their suggestions, accepted the demands and paved a way for the change in uniform for nurses, an official from the medical education and drugs department said.