The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has directed hospitals across the province to ensure that doctors, paramedical staff and other employees wear prescribed uniforms on duty, as part of measures to strengthen infection prevention, patient safety and accountability.
The directive, issued under Section 4(2) of the PHC Act 2010, applies to all healthcare facilities with more than 30 beds. The commission has made the facilities responsible for providing appropriate attire to staff in the specified categories and for not allowing them to work without it.
Under the instructions, janitorial and sanitation workers must be given standard uniforms, doctors must be provided overalls, and staff in operation theatres and rooms where specialised procedures are performed must be issued designated kits. Paramedical staff must also wear standard uniforms.
The commission said the requirement should not be treated as an administrative formality. It said uniforms are meant to improve healthcare standards and infection control, and to help patients tell different categories of medical personnel apart.
The PHC has also encouraged facilities to adopt a “bare below elbow” policy during patient care. The policy is intended to improve hand and forearm hygiene and reduce the spread of microorganisms through contact during clinical procedures.
Facilities are expected to build suitable infection prevention practices into their institutional arrangements. The commission further stated that scrubs and white coats must not be worn outside hospital premises, to prevent clothing used in clinical areas from carrying contaminants into public spaces.
Healthcare establishments were also urged to consider colour-coded uniforms for different professional roles. The system would make it easier for patients and attendants to identify doctors, paramedical staff and other personnel, particularly in emergency and outpatient departments.
