Closed petition Reconsider the 'bare below elbows' policy in hospitals

Closed on 28 December 2013

The 'bare below the elbows' policy should be revised to include exceptions for religious and other personal reasons. Staff should be able to work with sleeves if they have a credible reason for doing so. For instance, muslim or jewish women may wish to cover their arms according to their religious rulings and should be allowed to do this. There is no substantial scientific evidence to suggest that wearing sleeves increases hospital infection rates. There should be the option of staff wearing 'disposable sleeves' to attend to patients.

Patients should all be respected regardless of religious beliefs and personal choices. So, why can't the staff that care for them also be respected?

To clarify, the government needs to make a clear exception to the bare below the elbows policy in the NHS for religious and other grounds.Not doing so is actively discriminatory and actively discouraging such groups from entering the profession.