1 Summary

The following decision is sought:

This report seeks approval for the proposed uniform for nursing staff, care assistants and ancillary staff working in the new nursing units.

1.1 That the proposal for nursing home staff to be provided with uniform be approved.

1.2 That the following style, design and colour of the uniform be approved. Female staff uniforms to consist of a lilac coloured tunic and dark blue trousers and male uniforms to consist of a grey coloured tunic and dark blue trousers. All tunics will be embroidered with the full Hampshire County Council logo on the left breast. This approach has been agreed with the corporate communications team and is in keeping with the corporate identity.

1.3 That the budget for uniform provision be approved.

2 Reason(s)

2.1 This decision supports Aim 5 of the Corporate Strategy Improving Services by aiming to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction across all services and Aim 6 of the Corporate Strategy Developing Councillors and staff by involving staff so that they take pride in the council.

3 Other options considered and rejected

3.1 Not providing staff with uniform.

4 Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision-maker or other Executive Member consulted

4.1 None

5 Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

5.1 None

6 Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent

Not applicable

Approved by: Date of decision:

Councillor Felicity Hindson

1 Summary

1.1 This report aims to seek approval from the Executive Member for the proposed uniform for nursing staff, care assistants and ancillary staff working in the new nursing units. It provides information on why there is felt to be a need for uniforms and what design styles and colours should be adopted. The report gives an indication of the expected cost of providing uniforms within the Nursing Care Investment Strategy project.

1.2 The decisions sought support Corporate Strategy Aim 5 - Improving Services by aiming to achieve consistently high levels of customer satisfaction across all services and Aim 6 Developing Councillors and staff by involving staff so that they take pride in the council.

2 Objective

2.1 The aim of this report is to seek the approval of the Social Care Executive Member for the proposed uniform requirements for staff working in Older Persons Nursing Care homes.

3 Contextual Information

3.1 The Nursing Care Investment Strategy will provide ten Social Services led Nursing Units across Hampshire. Seven of these units will be alongside existing Older Persons Residential Care units and three will be `stand-alone' units built on Health Trust land. This will provide a total of 500 Nursing Care beds for Older Persons.

3.2 A total of 487 full-time equivalent staff will be employed to work within these units. For the first time Social Services will be employing Qualified Nurses in a nursing role.

3.3 The personal and professional appearance of staff makes an important contribution to the reputation of the County Council. A policy for the wearing of uniform for Nursing Home staff will be adopted that will encompass the expectations of staff who are required to wear a uniform as part of their role.

4 Purpose of Uniform

4.1 All staff represent the Social Services Department and are therefore required to present a professional and tidy appearance to protect Hampshire County Council's reputation.

4.2 The provision of uniform for staff within nursing units would be an extension and development of the current dress code guidance and policies in use in existing residential units where work wear is currently supplied. These guidelines and policies clearly define the dress code that staff must follow and include requirements for the wearing of appropriate footwear.

4.3 The type and style of clothing worn whilst working must take into account the need to satisfy Health and Safety requirements, such as moving and handling, where clothes should not restrict ease of movement or pose a hazard to those being moved.

4.4 Individual cultural and religious needs have been accounted for as part of the departments dress code guidelines. Any specific issues identified would be managed on an individual basis.

4.5 The provision of uniforms can assist in the improved management of hygiene and control of infection within units. Laundering facilities for staff uniforms will be available in all of the nursing units to ensure that adequate hygiene control and management is maintained.

4.6 It has long been recognised and accepted in the nursing profession that uniforms are worn as a means of professional identification. This professional image is an important element within the culture of nursing.

4.7 The type, style and colour of uniforms have also been used in nursing as a method of identifying an individual staff members position of seniority.

5 Options

5.1 Short informal surveys of staff and residents in existing residential units was carried out in an effort to determine how this group would expect to see staff within the new units. The overriding majority felt a `proper uniform' would be appropriate.

5.2 Discussions with Trades Union took place at the Joint Consultative Committee meetings and the full support of the unions was given.

5.3 Although the style of uniform chosen must enable easy identification of staff for residents and visitors, it is important that it maintains the social model of care and does not reflect what would be expected within a health care environment.

5.4 The chosen design and style must also comply with guidance on applying corporate identity to uniforms.

5.5 The corporate colour for uniforms is dark blue and it is felt that this colour has a very close affiliation with National Health Service nursing staff and would therefore not reflect the social model of care the service aims to maintain.

5.6 Discussions with the corporate communications and marketing team were held to establish if an alternative colour could be used. It was agreed that it is more appropriate for female staff uniforms to consist of a lilac coloured tunic and dark blue trousers/culottes and male uniforms to consist of a grey coloured tunic and dark blue trousers. All tunics will be embroidered with the full Hampshire County Council logo on the left breast. This was acceptable to the corporate communications team and was in keeping with corporate identity.

5.7 Individual role positions will be subtly identified by alternative coloured piping on the tunics. Qualified Nursing staff uniforms will have a blue piping trim and Care Assistant uniforms will have a white piping trim. Ancillary staff tunics will have no piping.

6 Costs

6.1 The implementation costs for uniforms based on a full-time equivalent staffing figure of 457 staff (the total number requiring uniform), would be approximately £75,000. This would be over a four year period to coincide with the phased opening of nursing homes.

6.2 The replacement of garments would need to be taken into account for ongoing budgets along with new issue for newly appointed staff. Assuming an individual replaced one item on an annual basis then a budget of £10,000 should be made available to cover the ongoing revenue costs.

6.3 As a comparison, the current budgetary allocation within the Older Persons Residential sector for protective clothing, including uniforms and work wear, is £26,800.

6.4 The uniforms will be purchased through County Supplies or competitive tender as appropriate where there is a potential for a discount for bulk purchase.

6.5 These costs are within the budget approved for the Nursing Care Investment Strategy.

Year Initial Cost Ongoing/Replacement Cost Total

04/05 £18,891 £0 £18,891 05/06 £38,759 £2,300 £41,059 06/07 £17,393 £6,800 £24,193 07 onwards £0 £10,000 £10,000 Total £75,043 £19,100

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That the proposal for nursing home staff to be provided with uniform be approved.

2. That the style, design and colour of uniform chosen be approved as indicated in paragraph 5.6.

3. That the budget for uniform provision be approved.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

NONE