Sir, – Seeing a middle-aged man wearing a suit and a stethoscope in the car park of a Dublin general hospital, I was caused to reflect on hospital doctors and their ubiquitous stethoscope scarves. Surely in these days when hospital infection is of concern, stethoscopes would be better kept in a sealed bag and taken out the odd time they are used. Doctors in turn could be issued with a badge saying, “I am a doctor”. – Yours, etc,