Psychiatric patients' opinions of nurses ceasing to wear uniform

Psychiatric patients at two general hospitals were asked whether they felt that nurses on their ward should wear uniforms or mufti. In one of the hospitals the procedure was repeated immediately after the nurses changed from uniforms to mufti and again at 5 and 7 month intervals. The results showed a general preference among patients for nurses to wear uniforms and there was no clear trend over time for increased acceptance of mufti on the wards which changed. There is a clear tendency for older patients to prefer uniforms, and it was only in the patients aged 29 or less that a preference for mufti could be discerned.