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Muslims can wear hospital 'inter-faith gown'

Muslim women booking into hospital for operations can now respect their religion by wearing a burka-style gown.

The 'Inter-Faith Gown' is the brainchild of Karen Jacob, the linen services manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It is the first such gown to be introduced in the country and patients at Preston and Chorley hospitals will now have the opportunity to wear it if they wish.

The poly-cotton gowns are sold to the NHS for £12 each.

But nobody is saying how much the gowns cost to design.

Tim Meadows, customer service manager for Interweave, said:

"We make gowns for obese people and others with necessary requirements - is that a waste of NHS money?

"Surely the point is to have people feeling comfortable and get them out of hospital as quickly as possible - saving money.

"There are far more important issues in the NHS than cost of a few gowns."

The gowns are believed to be a world first - and TrusTECH has the patent.

It means the market for the gowns among the globe's billion-plus Muslims is immense.

Mr Meadows added: "We think there is a large market out there. We hope it will be a success. We have invested a lot of time and money."

Ms Jacob and Interweave Textiles were brought together by TrusTECH – the NHS organisation that manages innovation for the North West NHS.

I personally think this is a slap in the face to all White English patients of the NHS. For years women especially, have had to face the embarrasment of hospital gowns which to be fair are no fashion accessory. But those whose culture or religion requires them to be more modestly clothed are deemed to have more rights to cover there body in a respectfull way.

Bearing in mind how many Muslims there are in our hospitals each week I would hardly say

"There are far more important issues in the NHS than cost of a few gowns."

Hospital gowns are there to give surgeons easy access to patients while on the operating theatre, I wonder how this full gown enables this to happen as the patient not ony has thier body covered but also thier head lets hope no Ethnic Person I think thats what I am supposed to call them has a severe car accident resulting in extensive body and head surgery. Because as I see it thier modesty must be more important than thier lives.

After having 3 children I am not particulary modest while in hospital and when you are unconcious lets face it we don't know what the doctors are looking at so wearing a funny looking gown is not top of my list.