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'Burka' gowns at a hospital near you
A burka style hospital gown created at a Lancashire hospital trust to protect patients' modesty has been taken up by scores of hospitals throughout the country.
The idea was the brainchild of Karen Jacob, linen services manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble hospitals.
The "Inter-faith" gown provides extra comfort and cover for patients undergoing medical procedures and is particularly useful for patients whose culture and religion requires them to be modestly clothed.
But Karen says the gown is aimed at anyone who wants to use to preserve their privacy and dignity.
The gown is made up of five pieces - three head garments, a gown and trousers. They can be mixed-and-matched to allow the patient their required degree of coverage. The sleeves of the gown have elasticated cuffs to cover the patients' arms.
The gown was initially trialled at the Royal Preston Hospital, but proved to be so successful it has been rolled out across the country and is now available at many hospitals alongside traditional hospital gowns.
Karen said: "I came up with the idea when we were talking about promoting privacy and dignity within the trust. A lot of people are reluctant to go into hospital as they do not want to be exposed.
"The gown is not aimed at any set religion or gender, but is there for everyone if they choose to use them.
"The gowns are well used at Preston and Chorley and I am surprised and delighted that so many other hospitals have taken the idea up."
The Inter-faith gown idea was developed by Interweave Textiles after being taken forward by TrusTECH – the NHS organisation that manages innovation for the North West NHS.
Karen is now encouraging other NHS workers to speak out about any ideas they have - however silly or trivial they may seem.
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Weather for Preston
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -6 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Sunny
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