Crocs shoes stand up to safety scrutiny
Cult fashion footwear, Crocs, the rubber shoes we have all come to love, could be banned in hospitals for fear that they can spread infection. Swedish hospitals recently stopped staff wearing the shoes over claims they create static electricity which interferes with medical equipment. Croc’s spokesperson says that the Swedish ban has been reversed. However, bosses at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are reportedly concerned the holes in the shoes could spread infection and claimed a hospital in the US said syringes could fall through them. Crocs, which have become popular with medical staff, are made from a resin which resists bacteria and odour. There are also Crocs available which do not have any holes in them.
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The Trust said Crocs are not included on its dress code but it is in talks with unions and governors about changing the policy. Deputy chief nurse Richard Parker, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are aware that some of our staff prefer to wear Croc-type footwear. The Trust has not experienced an incident such as those which are reported to have occurred at the Swedish hospital and has not received any specific guidance to indicate that any footwear should be banned as a result of interference with medical equipment."
A number of nursing schools and hospitals frown on them or outright ban them because of infection concerns, or so I've been told in the nursing student communities I am a member of.
Posted by: Ann | September 5, 2007 5:03 PM