NHS Scotland began its roll-out of a new national staff uniform for nurses this week.

The first deliveries of the new standardised tunics arrived at hospitals on the 9th of December according to a report on the Nursing Times website.

By the end of 2010, this new uniform will be worn by all nurses working across Scotland, including those in nurse management roles. Previously the Scottish NHS had over 250 different styles of tunic that came in around 100 different colours. Unlike the rest of the UK, hospitals in Scotland had no national uniform standard and each hospital might have a different system for identifying staff roles through dress.

Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon visited staff at Glasgow's New Stobhill hospital to announce the new uniform. Dressed in an example, she said that staff had been "involved from the outset and consulted on both the design and testing of the new outfits".

"Not only will the new NHS staff uniform help to convey the professionalism of health care workers, it will also make it easier for patients to identify staff" she said.

The new uniform makes use of a single, standard tunic style and comes in different shades of blue or green depending on the staff role. There are five shades of blue for clinical staff, and two shades of green for non-clinical staff. It is hoped that the colour-coded uniforms will help patients, visitors and new staff identify the role of each nurse, and who senior staff such as nurse managers are.

"The uniform will also help to minimise the risk of infection and cross contamination, further contributing to our ongoing drive to tackle health care associated infection and boost public confidence" said Ms Sturgeon.