Muslim doctor introduces disposable surgical hijab
Muizat Hameed
A hospital trust had recently supported the idea of a young doctor who saw the need for a disposable hijab in the surgical field.
Farah Roslan had the idea when she was training at Royal Derby Hospital and followed it up till it was endorsed by the hospital’s trust.
“The idea came up when I got concerned about entering the theater with the hijab I had worn all day. I was much concerned about the sterility of the surgical field, yet wouldn’t want to jeopardize my faith,” she narrated.
She added that “a middle ground needed to be found between ‘dress code due to faith’ and the ‘passion of being in the operating system”.
To ensure it is a continuous idea, she consulted her birth country, Malaysia, for ideas before creating a design and testing the most suitable fabrics.
“I’m really happy and looking forward to seeing if we can endorse this nationally”, she noted.
Farah’s mentor, consultant surgeon, Gill Tierney, said the trust was the first to introduce the headscarves in the UK.
She said, “We know it’s a quiet, silent issue around theaters 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,” she added.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust said the new headscarves were available to use for the first time in December.
However, an hospital in Dublin, Beaumont hospital, had in 2007, supplied disposable headscarves to their female medical students after it noted that the Muslims were forbidden from entering theaters, delivery suites, endoscopy units and intensive care unit with their hijab, reasons attached to hygiene.
