It was the movement for change, however, that made the Government give up its watch-and-wait approach, leaving the agitating staff optimistic. "When we met State Health Minister Daulatrao Aher and Chief Minister Joshi, they appeared sympathetic to the cause. It will take time, because we are women but the changes will happen," says Athawale. And if the Maharashtra Government decides to skirt the issue, the Federation plans to go ahead with the proposed changes. Incidentally, some of the city's hospitals, such as the Bombay Port Trust Hospital, had accepted the changes a couple of years ago. The new uniforms which have been adopted by nurses in Bihar, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and Kashmir have also been accepted at the ESIS Hospital in Pune, with the Gujarat Government having dispensed with the caps as long as five years ago.