“We know it’s a quiet, silent, issue around theatres around the country and I don’t think it has been formally addressed. It hasn’t cost much and hopefully the effect will be enormous.”
“We know it’s a quiet, silent, issue around theatres around the country and I don’t think it has been formally addressed. It hasn’t cost much and hopefully the effect will be enormous.”
The Royal Derby Hospital believes that it is the first in the UK to provide disposable sterile hijabs for staff, nurses, and doctors to use while in the operating room. Junior Doctor Farah Roslan, who wears the hijab herself, first had the idea during her training at the hospital. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, she explained:
I’d been using [the same headscarf] all day which obviously wasn’t clean and ideal. I didn’t feel comfortable taking it off and I was pulled out from the theatre, respectfully, due to infection control…I’m really happy and looking forward to seeing if we can endorse this nationally.”
Roslan hoped that by providing a sterile and disposable hijab for those who wear the headscarf, more hospitals around the country will come on board with this initiative. Originally from Malaysia, Roslan looked towards her country of birth for inspiration on the materials and design for the disposable hijabs, and eventually came up with the idea to present to the hospital.
Thank you @UHDBTrust for taking my initiative on board! I hope that by providing the disposable headscarf, we will remove one of the major barriers in attracting a wider and more diverse talent pool in surgery. #surgicalheadscarf #womeninsurgery #inclusivity https://t.co/4eJQDsXDVH
— Farah Roslan (@FarahShaheera19) December 16, 2019
Hoping to introduce the items nationally, NHS England has stated however that it will be up to individual trusts to implement and start using the disposable and sterile hijabs. The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust has also stated that these particular disposable headscarves will be ready for use this month in December. Consultant surgeon Gill Tierney, who mentored Roslan, stated:
We know it’s a quiet, silent, issue around theatres around the country and I don’t think it has been formally addressed. It hasn’t cost much and hopefully the effect will be enormous.”
Roslan for now has initiated a momentous change in hospitals across the UK – by providing a way for hijab-observing Muslim women to bridge together their passion and work with their religious observance, many will no longer feel compelled like she once was to step out of the operating room because of concerns over the headscarf.
