News safety regulations introduced in Wales mean that a popular brand of shoes will no longer be appropriate for nurses working in hospitals.

Crocs - and all other sandals that do not completely protect the foot - do not comply with the guidelines brought in by the Royal College of Nursing in Wales; with every hospital in the country having signed up to the uniform policy, reported NursingTimes.net.

A representative from the Welsh government stressed that everyone from new staff to professionals in nurse manager jobs must comply with the regulations, which rule out Crocs because they are not an "enclosed/full shoe".

The spokesman said: "NHS organisations have a duty of care towards their staff. The all-Wales uniform policy and dress code for all NHS staff, including nurses, includes health and safety guidelines."

Crocs - which tend to be loved and loathed in equal measure across the world - were not allowed in this new regime because of a worry that they would not protect against sharp objects, like needles.

The role of regulations in the healthcare sector were discussed by IVF pioneer Lord Winston recently, with the peer claiming that some guidelines passed down by the European Union may not be benefiting the sector, reported Mail Online.

As an example of how such issues may be damaging, he picked out the rules saying that the Nursing and Midwifery Council cannot test the communication or clinical skills of staff coming from Europe.