Sir: Like Professor Kohen and her colleagues in Lancashire (Psychiatric Bulletin, April 2002, 26, 156), we felt that there may be much to be gained by nursing staff going back to wearing uniforms in our community units for the elderly, where most in-patients have severe dementia. We undertook a study in three units looking at levels of behaviour disturbance before and after the introduction of uniforms in two of the units, with the third unit as a control. The study involved small numbers and is yet to be published, but we too found a decrease in behaviour disturbance in our patient group. This was particularly apparent when patients were receiving assistance with personal care, a time when disturbed behaviour can be a frequent occurrence. The uniforms were universally liked and staff issued with them for the trial all still insist on wearing them, even though the study period ended some time ago.
Unlike our colleagues in Lancashire, however, we have not yet been able to reintroduce uniforms across the service, as we would like. We now have to begin the process of persuading the management of the merits of funding uniforms for all the elderly in-patient areas. Any other recent contributions to the evidence base, which would aid our cause, would be most welcome.
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