– I see that my colleagues are freezing, says Stephanie Anita Heggen Bahl to Dagbladet.
For six years, Bahl worked as a nurse in Oslo, and for the same time she was annoyed by the uniform she had to wear every day, she says.
– The reason we have uniforms is, among other things, infection control. We deal with a lot of different things, not just caring for the sick, but also a lot of houses that don’t get cleaned or that have bugs. The home service has a work uniform that is not suitable for the job, Bahl believes.
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– Cold and soggy
Today’s nurses in Oslo receive trousers and a short-sleeved cotton gown. They usually provide their own shoes and jacket, and the same goes for clothes to keep warm.
Bahl believes that this is not a full-fledged uniform.
– In winter, we have to wear wool underneath and on top. Even patients ask if we are cold. Caregivers arrive cold and soaked, fall and slip on the ice. We don’t even get a buff, says the nurse.
WOOL AND FLEECE: Nurses Julie Grefsrud and Zvonko Milutinovic are colleagues of Bahl and demonstrate how they must dress in their fleece jackets and woolen socks to stay warm at work. Photo: private.
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At work, Bahl has his shoes, jacket and woolen underwear that he doesn’t dare take home with him, he says.
– I don’t want to take it home due to the danger of bringing bed bugs home.
Bahl believes that nursing uniforms, among other things, are prioritized because it is a female-dominated profession.
– Most women work in healthcare and therefore it is easier to de-prioritize. I’ve been screaming for six years, but I have to scream even louder because we are not heard. Now I have the same type of uniform as six years ago.
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Invite the health board in shifts
Bahl recently made a Facebook post about what he sees as problematic with the uniforms, and support hasn’t been spared, he says.
– People are very busy and that’s very good, because it’s a national problem.
Oslo city councilor for health, the elderly and citizen services, Robert Steen (AP), was, among other things, tagged in the comment section of the post along with an invitation to participate in a shift in uniform.
– He hasn’t answered yet, says Bahl.
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– Should have been in place a long time ago
When Dagbladet contacts Steen, he too doesn’t answer if he will accept the invitation.
According to the health department, the municipality has a limited budget and needs to prioritize differently.
– The adjustment of uniforms in home service is something that has interested me for a long time, and therefore I have proposed to allocate money for this in this year’s budget. Unfortunately, there was a tight budget this year and we had to prioritize the elderly and nutrition, although I do agree that adapted uniforms should have been in place a long time ago, Steen tells Dagbladet .
IMPORTANT: The Oslo municipality health board also believes that uniforms should be more tailored. Archive photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet
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Infection control equipment available
It says employees of the home care service are provided with work clothes in line with the order of the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority.
– Home care employees in the municipality of Oslo receive working clothes in line with the order of the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. Where there is a risk of infection, the municipality needs to have infection control equipment that can be used outside the uniform, says Steen.
The Norwegian health authority does not respond to questions about the use of private clothing.
Dagbladet was granted access to a 2015 Norwegian Labor Inspectorate report Østfold and Akershus on workwear policy in care and nursing homes. The report says there is little documentation to show that much of the infection occurs through the work clothes of staff, but that it has been shown that employees can transfer many times greater doses of infection to patients through clothing than through airborne infection.
Surprising results: increased risk
– Really annoying
A report from Statistics Norway from 2019 on the healthcare personnel labor market up to 2035, says that there are too few trained nurses and that the situation will worsen in the coming years.
“HINSIDES”: The leader of the Norwegian Nurses Association believes that warm uniforms should be a minimum requirement. Photo: NSF.
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Norwegian Nurses Association (NSF) leader Lill Sverresdatter Larsen believes uniforms should be a minimum measure to keep people in work.
– Uniforms tip the balance for some nurses. We lack vital skills and must go the extra mile to keep people in work, and so proper uniform should be a minimum. It’s really annoying, says Larsen.
Larsen believes that uniforms create dangers for employees.
– We are in a normalized pandemic and we know how the infection spreads, it is important to have the right equipment. Also, it is Hindi to send employees in such skimpy clothes in winter. We have a high rate of sick leave, so I think it’s strange that the healthcare sector doesn’t take care of itself, says Larsen.
