By ELIZABETH BINNING
Waikato Hospital's controversial wedding ring ban looks set to be thrown out following advice from Occupational Safety and Health.
Support Services manager Phil Minogue said the hospital had decided the wedding rings no longer posed a hazard to staff, following a letter from OSH.
A senior health and safety inspector wrote that it was machines such as dishwashers that caused the hazards, not wedding rings.
Mr Minogue said a meeting would be held next week to see if there were ways around the other main concern - bacteria living under rings that could make patients sick.
Mr Minogue said if the food hygiene issue could be resolved, possibly through wearing gloves, then the policy would be altered and workers would be allowed to wear a flat wedding ring.
Such a change would come as a huge victory to many staff who have campaigned fiercely against the policy. Several have vowed to face discipline rather than remove their wedding bands.
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