Healthcare Uniform Colours by Role: A UK Scrub Colour Guide

Different uniform colours. Different job roles. One mission — Care

What colour scrubs do healthcare staff wear? In the UK, it depends on the role, the department, and the employer. Nurses usually wear blue, pharmacists green, and senior staff darker shades, but no single rule applies to every hospital and clinic. This guide covers the most common scrub colours by role and their history. Mirabella Workwear’s healthcare uniforms bring comfort and style to every shift.

Why do healthcare staff wear different colours?

Colours can signal a person’s profession across different wards, units, clinics, or departments—for example, from nursing and midwifery to pharmacy—helping distinguish roles while adding individuality to healthcare workwear. Mirabella Workwear brings these colour choices into a wide-ranging healthcare collection, with practical styles to suit different professional settings and preferences.

Healthcare scrub colours by role

In England, the NHS has introduced a national uniform with set colours for roles such as nurses, nursing associates, matrons and support workers. It is being rolled out gradually, and private clinics, care homes and other employers often set their own colours. The colours below are suggestions based on common examples, not fixed rules. Always check your own uniform policy.

The history behind healthcare uniform colours

Healthcare uniform colours have a long history, and most of the choices we see today were made for practical reasons.

Why surgeons wear green and blue

Until the early 20th century, surgeons often operated in their everyday clothes, sometimes with a butcher’s apron over the top. As ideas about hygiene took hold, operating clothing turned white to signal cleanliness. But under bright operating lights, white light caused glare and eye strain, and surgeons could see a green afterimage when they looked up from red tissue.

In 1914, San Francisco surgeon Harry Sherman introduced green into the operating theatre. Green sits opposite red on the colour wheel, which helps keep the eye sensitive to reds and pinks. By the mid-20th century, many hospitals had followed, and green and blue were also kinder to stains and lasted longer in the wash than white. That is why theatre scrubs are still usually green or blue today.

Why nurses wear blue, and senior staff wear darker shades

In Britain, uniforms have shown rank since Victorian times. Hospitals developed distinctive uniforms in specific colours to indicate where someone stood in the nursing hierarchy. At the Middlesex Hospital in 1895, for example, probationers wore black or grey, nurses wore blue, and sisters wore violet. Matrons were set apart too, often in black with a white cap.

Over time, blue became the predominant colour in nursing. Students and ward staff wore lighter blues, while ward sisters and senior nurses wore darker blues, a pattern that still shapes how navy and sky blue are used today. Other roles, such as pharmacists and physiotherapists, wore different colours so patients could distinguish them from nurses.

The NHS national uniform

For many years each NHS trust set its own uniform colours, which could confuse patients and staff moving between hospitals. To standardise this, NHS Supply Chain introduced a national uniform for England. Nurses wear hospital blue, nursing associates wear sky blue, nursing practitioners wear royal blue, matrons wear purple, and healthcare assistants and support workers wear lilac. The lighter-to-darker blue pattern from the wards carried straight through.

Mirabella’s healthcare range includes many of these shades, such as Hospital Blue, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, Lilac, Purple, Navy and Bottle Green.

Our best-selling styles for nurses and doctors are:

• Lister Scrub Top
• Lister Scrub Trousers
• Athena Ladies Scrub Top
• Nightingale Ladies Tunic
• Darwin Men’s Tunic

Healthcare uniforms made for the shift

Mirabella Workwear has a wide range of healthcare collections.

• Healthcare Tunics: Practical styles with comfortable fits and useful pockets for everyday healthcare work.
• Scrub Tops: V-neck designs with a loose fit allow easy movement and offer practical features.
• Healthcare & Scrub Trousers: Flexible waistbands and practical designs to support comfort and freedom of movement.
• Tabards: Easy-to-wear styles for everyday work, with useful storage where featured.

Across the collection, comfortable designs, durable fabrics, easy-care qualities and a choice of colours help meet different working needs. Pocket layouts, closures, fabric compositions and other design details vary by style, offering options to suit different preferences and professional settings.

Frequently asked questions

Do all hospitals use the same scrub colours?

No. England has a national NHS uniform with set colours, but it is being rolled out gradually, and other employers choose their own uniforms. Check your uniform policy before you buy.

What colour scrubs do nurses wear in the UK?

Blue is the most common. In the NHS national uniform, nurses wear hospital blue, nursing associates sky blue, and nursing practitioners royal blue. Navy is often used for ward sisters and senior staff.

What colour do healthcare assistants wear?

Lilac is part of the NHS national uniform for healthcare assistants and support workers, though colours vary by employer.

Why are surgical scrubs green or blue?

Green and blue sit opposite red on the colour wheel, so they reduce glare and eye fatigue when viewing blood and tissue. They also hide stains better than white.

Can I choose my own scrub colour?

Only if your employer allows it. Many workplaces set required colours, so ask your manager first.

To every healthcare professional who cares for others every day — thank you for all that you do. Your care matters, and you deserve workwear that supports you through every shift.

Find the shade. Fit the shift.

Explore Mirabella’s healthcare collection for practical designs, comfortable fits, and a range of colours for the workday. EXPLORE MIRABELLA HEALTHCARE STYLES