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In an attempt to stop the spread of MRSA, the NHS is to ban the white coat.

From next year, doctors must adopt a more hygienic "bare below the elbows" look. …

The white coat has been firmly on the doctor's back since the late 19th century, when the English surgeon Joseph Lister brought about a revolution in hygiene. …

"Before Lister, doctors would march straight into the ward from postmortems in blood-spattered frock coats," says Dr Carole Reeves of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê. "But the white coat has always been a psychological barrier. Doctors have always known it didn't stop a single germ in its tracks, but it gave them status." …

Kate Carter, 'The Guardian'