HAMBURG (dpa) – Doctors at 100 facilities in Germany run by Hamburg-based private hospital operator Asklepios will trade in their traditional, long-sleeved white coats for short sleeves in April.
The managing director of Asklepios, Kai Hankeln, said the company was responding to patients’ concerns about infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria in light of studies showing a particularly high “bacterial load” on the coats’ sleeves.
Asklepios said it was the first major hospital operator in Germany to take such a step and was following recommendations by the Berlin-based Robert Koch Institute, which is responsible for disease control and prevention, and the World Health Organization.
While short-sleeved attire has long been standard in operating theatres and intensive care units, Hankeln noted that a long-sleeved white coat was traditionally an identifying feature and status symbol in non-critical hospital wards in Germany.
File photo shows a doctor wearing a short-sleeved attire at work. A German company is trading in the traditional long-sleeved coats with short sleeves after studies show a particularly high ‘bacterial load’ exist on the coats’ sleeves. EPA
He said company officials had to do a lot of persuading to get medical staffs to agree to short sleeves.
“The communicative effort was considerable,” he remarked, adding that younger doctors were more amenable to the change to tunics. “For older, head physicians, it’s a hurdle they’ve got to jump over.”
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