The board responsible for 16 hospitals in eastern Newfoundland is recommending that people who work in hospitals not wear the popular, brightly coloured foamy shoes known as Crocs.
Eastern Health's workplace health and safety co-ordinators recently concluded that Crocs don't provide enough support and protection for people who work in hospitals.
The shoes, which were originally made for gardening, are clog-style, made of a thick foam and have holes in the top and sides, a design feature that enables air circulation and water to run through them.
Susan Bonnell, spokesperson for Eastern Health, says the corporation has a footwear policy and Crocs don't fit the standards because they don't cover the entire foot and they're not made of a sturdy material such as leather.
"In a health-care setting, there's lots of wheelchairs and stretchers and carts and equipment, so we want the footwear to be sturdy to protect the foot and to protect the wearer from liquid spills and corrosive spills. These things are a hazard in the health-care environment," Bonnell said.
"Shoes should also protect the wearer from punctures such as needles or sharps, so you can see that Crocs are not going to provide the appropriate support and protection we would like to see in footwear for an employee."
Ashley Donovan works in the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's and is a big fan of Crocs — she wears a pink pair to work — and says that almost all doctors and nurses there have stopped wearing leather shoes or sneakers in favour of the colourful Crocs.
"I just like them because they're comfortable and they're light on your feet so it almost seems like you don't have anything on at all," Donovan said.
"I'm not around things that could get run over my feet, so I don't have to worry about that. I know a lot of people don't want to wear them because they're wheeling around heavy carts, but I'm not doing that, I just find them really comfortable I like them better than wearing sneakers."
So far, Eastern Health is following suit with most other health boards in Canada and not banning the shoes, but recommending their employees not wear them.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority recently considered a ban them but later decided that Crocs are OK to wear in their hospitals. But people who work at the Ottawa Hospital won't be able to wear them after Sept. 1.
Bonnell says no accidents have been caused by the shoes, but she said it is possible they may ban Crocs in the future.
