Sunday 5 October 2008

Hey Doc... Is Your Tie Clean?


The unsuspecting tie and long-sleeved shirt that doctors wear may be crawling with germs.
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Guanyu said...

Hey Doc... Is Your Tie Clean?

The unsuspecting tie and long-sleeved shirt that doctors wear may be crawling with germs.

The Straits Times
5 October 2008

We know that doctors and other health-care workers are meticulous about washing their hands.

What about their clothes? A recent New York Times article highlighted growing concerns in the United States about the role that doctors’ garments play in the spread of bacteria.

According to the newspaper, the discussion was re-ignited this year in the US when the British National Health Service imposed a ‘bare below the elbows’ rule. It bars doctors from wearing ties and long sleeves, both of which are known to accumulate germs as doctors move from patient to patient.

Though it doesn’t happen here, doctors and nurses in the US can often be seen wearing scrubs on subways and in grocery stores.

In Singapore, male doctors smartly turned out in ties and long-sleeved shirts and female doctors dressed in sharp suits are a common sight.

The article reported a study from the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens which compared the ties of 40 doctors and medical students with those of 10 security guards.

It found that about half the ties worn by medical personnel were a reservoir for germs, compared with just one in 10 of the ties taken from security guards.

Dry cleaning shops here say that it is very rare for customers to send ties for cleaning after just one wear.

Mr Robert Chang, 67, the owner of Aspen Laundry, said: ‘Most men will wear a tie at least twice before sending it for dry cleaning. Some will dry clean their tie only when it has a stain.’

When asked about the subject of doctors’ clothes and their possible role in the spread of infections, most local doctors, and some hospitals, declined to comment.

Of those who did respond, a spokesman for the National University Hospital (NUH) said that its staff members are asked to change out of soiled scrubs before leaving the hospital premises.

Associate Professor Dale Fisher, chair of infection control at NUH, said that infection control practices are taken seriously in the hospital and staff are trained on the importance of maintaining clean hands at all times.

Dr Fisher said that ties and other pieces of apparel are sometimes referred to as reservoirs for micro-organisms that may cause nosocomial infection (infection caught while staying in a hospital) but he added that the risk of catching infections from contaminated clothes needed to be put in perspective.

‘Hands of health-care workers which have not been disinfected are the major source of bacterial transmission,’ he said.

Dr Fisher said that bottles of alcohol-based hand rub are located all around NUH and staff are audited on their use. Added precautions are taken where there is suspicion of infections with drug-resistant organisms when it comes to the gowns and gloves of medical personnel.

ParkwayHealth, which runs the East Shore Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said its clinical staff are strongly advised to avoid wearing ties during ward rounds and when tending to patients. When a doctor does wear a tie, he has to wear a tie clip to prevent accidental contamination.

ParkwayHealth’s dress code also discourages doctors from wearing long-sleeved coats. Additionally, staff uniforms and coats are washed daily and even identity badges are required to be cleaned regularly with alcohol wipes.

Opinions do vary on the subject in medical circles though. While some data suggest that doctors’ clothes are crawling with germs, there is no evidence that clothing plays a role in the spread of hospital infections.

The New York Times also reported that some researchers have found that patients have less confidence in a doctor whose attire is casual.

‘I wouldn’t like to see a sloppily dressed doctor,’ said Ms Jill Chng, 28.

Ms Chng, the mother of a 13-month-old baby, said she did not think it unsanitary for doctors to wear long sleeves and ties as long as they keep themselves clean and wash their hands regularly.

‘I’d like to think that most doctors have clean clothes. I have yet to see a doctor wearing a tie stained with bits of yesterday’s steak sandwich,’ she said.