Doctors and nurses are writing to ministers demanding higher quality face masks

Doctors and nurses working in UK hospitals demand high-quality PPE to protect themselves against the more rapidly spreading coronavirus.

In an open letter to politicians, 800 medics have warned that personnel in general wards are twice as likely to contract Covid-19 as those in intensive care, so they must be given protective equipment of the same quality.

They said all medics should get the FFP3 mask – which has an air filter and can cost as much as £ 10 each – instead of standard surgical masks.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) supported the appeal and called for a review of existing PPE guidance and ventilation in hospitals ‘without delay’.

According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, the virus is mainly spread through droplets from the nose or mouth through coughing, sneezing and speaking.

People in the hospital with the virus are more likely to spread it than others because they generally have worse infections, which can mean they carry more of the virus in their bodies, and more symptoms, making them more likely to cough.

The letter has awakened the problems of the first wave of the epidemic, when in the spring of 2020 health and care providers were furious with the government for not providing them with enough PPE to do their jobs safely. Some employees turned to garbage bags because they couldn’t get the right equipment.

Fresh Air NHS action group, which says it represents primary health care workers who ‘recognize the importance of SARS-CoV-2 in the air’, sent the letter.

All staff working with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients should have access to a more advanced FFP3 mask, which includes an air filter.

The FFP3 mask is made of thicker material than a standard surgical mask and fits snugly over the nose and mouth, rather than loosely over the face.

The petition added that PPE guidelines should be revised, and that hospitals should maximize their natural ventilation through actions such as opening windows.

The letter states: ‘We implore that these recommendations are implemented in the UK as soon as possible. It will take time for mass vaccination and its effects on transmission rates to take effect.

“It is therefore imperative to maximize scientifically based preventive measures against aerosol / air transmission, in addition to standard drip precautions in healthcare facilities.”

They add: ‘It is now essential that health workers have their personal protective equipment upgraded to protect them from airborne transmission.

Inhalation of viral aerosols, whether the sensitive person is near the source or at more distant locations, is most effectively interrupted by a respiratory protection device, such as an N95 filter mask with facepiece.

A significant portion of the NHS workforce is unavailable to assist at this peak time due to illness and the need to isolate themselves due to SARS-CoV-2.

This adds to the already dangerous situation that the remaining staff are tired, overworked and prone to errors.

Not only staff contract SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare facilities, but patients admitted for reasons other than Covid-19 are also hospitalized.

“In the first half of November, about 20 percent of hospital cases for SARS-CoV-2 were acquired in hospitals.”

The RCN has backed their call and also called for improvement of personal protective equipment.

Dame Donna Kinnair, the general manager, said: “Nurses and all healthcare professionals urgently need assurances from ministers and scientists that they are adequately protected from the new variant, both by PPE and by safety procedures in their workplace.

‘They must immediately indicate whether the existing PPE guidance is sufficient for the new variant.’

She called for staff working with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases to be given higher PPE and called for a review of “ the effectiveness of ventilation in health and care buildings. ”