Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Views & Reviews From the Frontline

A fashion for uniformity

BMJ 2010; 340 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c2926 (Published 03 June 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;340:c2926

Rapid Response:

Uniformity is an antidote to otherness

What a splendid idea to introduce an NHS uniform. Only the forward-thinking Scotland could have suggested this, just as they have done in
many things over the centuries past in the fields of education, science,
philosophy and economics.

How about providing an Arab-style long head-to-toe gown [blue for
men and pink for women, with optional pink patches for nostalgic folk].

Many problems in society are generated by our rejection of "otherness". Who knows the Scottish NHS may have unwittingly invented an antidote
for such a disdain of the unfamiliar.

A historic moment, Dr. Spence. Please do not kill it.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

08 June 2010
Abdul Jaleel
Retired Consultant
County Durham