'Ban Indian doctors from wearing white coats'

Bengaluru, July 22: Banning Indian doctors and medical students from wearing long-sleeved white coats could reduce the spread of infections in hospitals, says a new study. "Long sleeved coats spread infection and lead to avoidable harm and cost to patients," said Edmond Fernandes, a postgraduate at Yenepoya Medical College in Bengaluru. "Every hospital should have a committee to check and respond to hospital acquired infections," he added. "But an easy win would be for India's ministry of health to ban doctors and medical students from wearing white coats, to reduce the harm and cost that results from hospital acquired infections," Fernandes said in the study published in the journal The BMJ. "Although long sleeved white coats have traditionally been worn by doctors since the 19th century, we now know that white coats harbour potential contaminants and contribute considerably to the burden of disease acquired in hospital by spreading infection," Fernandes added.