Health Visitors with Salford Royal Foundation NHS Trust have worn uniforms for some time. I have not worked for the trust, but from my acquaintance with colleagues there, I think its fair to say that the initial adoption of uniforms attracted a range of views, but that on the whole misgivings have been dispelled. Possible pluses include strengthened corporate identity within the organisation; being seen as ‘professional’ and clinically credible in the community; also the decision making about ‘what to wear’ is avoided. Personally, I need to be convinced. I’m ambivalent about the term ‘clinical’ as applied to HV. The etymology of the word is the Greek word for ‘bed’ and implies sickness, passivity and detachment whereas I associate HV with health, empowerment and engagement. More generally, what we wear is part of how we represent ourselves and establish identity. Health visiting is a relational process more than a set of technical procedures, but the ‘use of self’ does not mean we are representing ourselves as private individuals: we are representing health visiting, our employers and often a wider team or even ‘system’ – think of implementing a child protection plan. Then there is the matter of professional identity and the connotations of relative esteem and status. In my view, HVs need to becomes experts in reflectively managing identities. Sometimes it begins at the wardrobe.
