Canberra Hospital management has clarified that female wardspeople can wear shorts. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
A claim by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) that Canberra Hospital’s uniform policy is “outdated and blatantly sexist” has been denied by hospital management.
The controversy comes after the union issued a release last week claiming hospital management had issued a “directive effective immediately” that female wardspeople – or ‘wardies’ – are not allowed to wear shorts, whereas male staff are.
It claims the directive was issued after a staff member at the hospital wore shorts to work on a hot day and was directed not to wear them again.
The staff member subsequently passed out from overheating, the union claims. It says the hospital subsequently approved shorter pants for women that still come to below the knee.
“It is hard to fathom that this is a fight we are having in 2023 – it is outrageous and the management at The Canberra Hospital clearly need a wakeup call,” CPSU national president Brooke Muscat said in the release.
“The shorts are fine for the hospital expansion construction site, they’re fine for working at the Arboretum, they’re fine for male wardies, but they aren’t fine for women,” she added.
“Let them wear shorts and get on with the job of caring for patients. We have a situation where senior executive managers seem to think women’s knees are offensive and need to be covered at work.
“But the real problem here isn’t women’s knees, it’s the outdated and sexist opinions of people who are more concerned with seeing a woman in shorts than they are with her passing out from overheating.
“Management should be focussing on patient outcomes and wait times, rather than women wearing shorts. The priorities are all wrong.”
But Canberra Health Services (CHS) management says this is not the case.
In an interview with ABC Radio, Canberra Health Directorate CEO Dave Peffer said the hospital’s uniform policy was “balanced and fair and irrespective of gender” and said wardspeople of any gender “could opt to wear shorts, trousers or scrubs, depending on what their circumstances were and what was most comfortable for them”.
In response to follow-up questions from Region on Tuesday (10 October), CHS said it issues uniform shorts for wardspeople who choose to wear them instead of trousers or scrubs, irrespective of gender.
“This has been the case for years and remains the case today,” a CHS spokesperson told Region.
“At no point over the past decade have female wardspeople been unable to wear shorts as part of their uniform.
“Last week, an email was sent to wardspeople advising that specifically designed uniform shorts for female wardspeople had recently become available in response to discussions with staff and the union earlier this year.
“Female wardspeople may choose to wear these shorts in addition to the uniform unisex shorts that continue to be available for all wardspeople. CHS met with the union yesterday about this matter and continues to have productive discussions to identify alternative designs of shorts for the staff concerned.”
Late yesterday, the CPSU said it was “relieved to see that common sense had prevailed”.
“This is not just a good outcome for wardspersons – it is a good outcome for the patients that rely on them,” Ms Muscat said.
“Wardies have a critical job to do, and now they can comfortably get on with doing it.
“Now that this is resolved, CPSU members look forward to working productively with management on a range of other WHS issues facing wardies,” she added.
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on Riotact.
