Uniforms for nurses and agency healthcare staff

Healthcare agencies face an extra challenge. Their nurses and HCAs work in hospitals, care homes and the community, each with its own rules, so the agency uniform must fit in anywhere while still showing who they work for.

Long shifts on hard floors

Twelve-hour shifts mean the uniform is worn through bending, reaching and sitting at the station. Stretch scrubs and tunics with plenty of pockets, for pens, scissors, fob watches and phones, help nurses get through the day. Elastic or drawstring waists stay comfortable through a long shift.

Short sleeves support bare below the elbows policies used across most clinical settings. Dark trousers hide marks.

Working across different sites

Agency staff often move between placements in a week. Neutral scrub colours that will not clash with a ward's own colour codes help, with the agency logo and role clearly embroidered. Some hospitals ask agency staff to wear their own trust's uniform or specific colours, so check each client's requirements.

Make sure the job title on the uniform matches the staff member's registration. Registered Nurse is a protected title in the UK, so keep it for staff on the NMC register.

Getting to and from work

Infection control policies often ask staff not to travel in uniform, or to cover it. A branded fleece or softshell that goes over the uniform covers it on the commute and keeps the agency identity visible for community and home visits.

• Registered nurses: scrubs or tunic, role embroidered
• HCAs and support workers: tunic in a separate colour
• Community staff: tunic plus branded softshell

Where to put your logo

Embroider the agency logo on the left chest of scrubs and tunics, and the role, such as Registered Nurse or HCA, on the right. Keep the logo small so it sits well alongside a client's ID badge. Embroidery outlasts print on uniforms washed hot after every shift. Outer layers can carry a larger logo on the back for community work. A proof is sent first so roles and spellings are right.

Ordering for nurses and agency healthcare staff

Most nurses and agency healthcare staff start with scrubs, healthcare tunics and softshell jackets. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.