Malaysian Doctor in the UK Invents First Ever Disposable Hijabs for Surgeons

The idea for the disposable sterile hijabs came to Farah Roslan while she was still a medical student with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust.

“I’d been using [the same headscarf] all day which obviously wasn’t clean and ideal,” she told BBC. “I didn’t feel comfortable taking it off and I was pulled out from the theater, respectfully, due to infection control.”

However, Roslan said there has to be a middle ground between “dress code due to faith” and the “passion” in saving lives in the operating theater. As a result, she looked to her birth country of Malaysia for ideas for the design and fabric for the hijabs.

Roslan’s mentor, Consultant Surgeon Gill Tierney, hopes that the junior doctor’s efforts would have a huge effect on the issue.

“We know it’s a quiet, silent, issue around theatres around the country and I don’t think it has been formally addressed,” Tierney said. “It hasn’t cost much and hopefully the effect will be enormous.”

In a Facebook post, the hospital believes they are the first in the U.K. to ever introduce disposable hijabs for the operating theater.

“I’m really happy and looking forward to seeing if we can endorse this nationally,” Roslan said.

Feature Image via @UHDBTrust