Hospital staff will be reminded they should not wear their uniforms outside work after a staff member was barred from boarding a bus, the Bermuda Hospitals Board said yesterday.

The move came after worker said that he had been forced to sleep at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after a bus driver refused to let him on the last bus of the night.

The hospital worker added: “She didn’t even open the door.

“She asked me if I was a hospital worker. I said yes, and she said I needed to change my clothes and left me on the roadside.”

The worker said that with curfew near and no other options available, he had to walk back to the KEMH last Thursday night and spent the night there.

He added: “It’s straight up discrimination. Apparently some other workers had been told by drivers that they should change, but that they would be let on board ‘this one time’.

“They didn’t say why. They just said I needed to change my clothes.”

The Ministry of Transport did not respond to a request for comment on the incident yesterday.

But a BHB spokeswoman said: “We are very sorry that one of our staff members was not able to travel home late at night.

“BHB has previously advised all staff only to wear their uniforms on site as courtesy to members of the public, and that they will not be allowed on public transport if they are in uniform.

“We will ensure additional reminders are circulated to that no other employees find themselves in this difficult position.”

The spokeswoman added: “We would stress that our staff do not pose a risk to the community and those who work in close proximity to patients wear full protective coverings and equipment over their uniform.”