I believe that we should wear uniform although in my Trust we do not. I believe that this would get around the ‘approrpriate’ dress issue, after all what I see as acceptable may not be what someone else thinks is ok. Definitely no nails polish, rings and so on. I have seen HV’s in flip flops, shorts, chiffon trousers, low tops with painted nails and nails ‘jewels’. We MUST remember infection prevention and control with hand washing and the 5 moments of hand hygiene. Whilst I would agree with Roberts comments about ‘clinical’ we do work with babies who have been discharged, generally, from a hospital setting at many of our visits. This not only protects our clients but also ourselves.
