Hospitals urged to offer patients more gown sizes

Hospitals are being asked to offer a wider range of gown sizes to better protect patients' dignity.

It follows the experience of a patient from Wiltshire who said she was offered a gown that was "far too small" during a hospital stay in Bristol.

Barbara Gale said it gaped at the back and made her feel "embarrassed".

The experience sparked calls for more sizing options..

An independent study conducted by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow in 2019 asked patients across the UK for their thoughts on the issue of hospital gowns.

Consultant clinical psychologist for the NHS, Nicola Cogan, led the research and said the findings showed Ms Gale's experience was not an isolated case.

She said: "We spoke to a 1,000 patients and found over two thirds reported they struggled to get a gown on themselves and 70% reported the gown did not fit".

"It's not cost effective for the NHS, but also it shows that the gown is currently not fit for purpose."

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Source: BBC News, 13 March 2023