The new dignity gowns are part of a pilot taking place at Leicester’s Hospital.
From May 2019, Radiology patients at Leicester’s Hospitals will be able to choose a ‘dignity gown’ rather than the standard hospital gown, which does not cover all of the body and can be too revealing for some patients.
The plea for gowns to cover more of the body was made to the Trust’s Equality Advisory Group (EAG), an external panel with representatives from the community who support the Trust with their Equality agenda. Zubeda Gangat, a member of the EAG representing the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) and a member of staff brought the matter to one of the Trust’s EAG meetings.
Zubeda explains: “Some patients may be reluctant to attend Radiology appointments due to the revealing nature of hospital gowns. The dignity gown is designed to preserve the modesty of patients whose culture or religion may require them to do so.”
To fund the initial order of the dignity gowns, Zubeda secured generous donations from Pak Food Stores and charity, Rahma Mercy.
‘Receptive to the needs of our local community’.
Just over 300 gowns have been purchased and will be used by the Radiology departments across the two hospitals. As with the standard gowns, the dignity gowns can be washed and re-used.
Karl Leivars, Superintendent Radiographer for Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “Increasing patient choice to address potential dignity issues is a positive step towards improvement of the overall patient experience.
“We are grateful for the generous donations from Pak Food Stores and Rahma Mercy, which have enabled us to respond to our patients’ needs.”
Karamjit Singh, Chairman for Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “This is another example of how our Trust tries to be receptive and responsive to the needs of our local community.
“The needs of patients should always be at the forefront of our thinking and actions.”
Shaheen Mulla, Equality Coordinator for Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “We are so pleased to be able to trial the use of dignity gowns for all of our Radiology patients.
“Ensuring patient dignity is an important part of the care we provide. We believe these dignity gowns will really improve the hospital experience for our patients.”