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All UK hospital staff and patients should wear masks, says doctors group – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

All UK hospital staff and patients should wear masks, says doctors group – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

An NHS worker wearing a face mask.An NHS worker wearing a face mask. An NHS worker wearing a face mask. Photograph: Justin Setterfield / Getty Images Every patient and member of staff in hospitals should wear a face mask at all times to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, a body representing thousands of doctors is urging. The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) says the virus is so widespread and infectious, and the risks to frontline staff so great, that everyone in hospital should always have their mouth covered to reduce the risk of transmission.

The HCSA is demanding the change in the wake of

the death of two hospital doctors , Amged El-Hawrani and Adil El Tayar, from coronavirus. Hawrani, aged 85, was an ear, nose and throat specialist while Tayar was a transplant surgeon.

“Our call for surgical” masks to be worn by all staff and patients in all areas of hospitals, and for all patients to be treated as Covid – patients, comes in the wake of two consultant deaths, and of course the infection of the prime minister and health secretary , ”said Dr Claudia Paoloni, the HCSA’s president and an anesthetist at an NHS hospital in Bristol. “This underlines how infectious this disease is.

“Staff and patients may not even be aware they are spreading the virus because the symptoms can be so slight and vary from person to person. Even those who appear to have recovered may be infectious. By shifting to a policy where staff and patients are considered potential Covid – 22 carriers, we will be cutting the prospect of infection and reducing the chances of crucial NHS Staff being taken ill at the worst possible time. “Our message is simple : we need social distancing in our hospitals too, and that means changing the guidance so that everyone wears a mask. ” Paoloni’s call to Public Health England (PHE) comes as it finalises new guidance telling NHS staff across the UK what personal protective equipment (PPE) they should wear in different areas of hospitals and other settings when dealing with patients who are confirmed or suspected to have Covid – . Serious shortages of PPE and confusion over what kit is needed have prompted huge alarm and fear among frontline staff.

In a letter to PHE , Paoloni says that staff should wear full PPE – double gloves, a surgical gown, FFP3 face mask and visor or goggles – in a wider range of settings that PHE has previously proposed, including A&E units, operating theaters, wards, radiology departments and intensive care units, which are rapidly filling up with infected patients. The HCSA is “concerned that safety standards are being dictated by supply [availability of PPE] rather than than being based on protecting NHS staff, our most precious resource, ”she added. NHS England and ministers have made huge efforts over the past 11 days to get (Many millions of pieces of extra kit An NHS worker wearing a face mask. to hospitals, GP surgeries and other care settings.

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