Why is respiratory protective equipment still an issue in the NHS?

Abstract

Revised NHS guidance has relaxed infection prevention and control (IPC) requirements for hospitals and GP practices. These authors question why airborne transmission is not more clearly acknowledged and why healthcare workers still do not have access to appropriate personal protective equipment

Choices that fail health and wellbeing

“…Would you continue to deny staff respiratory protection in defiance of the evidence and the airborne nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1082)?5 Would you continue to maintain that you had no idea that asymptomatic transmission of the virus was possible in defiance of the fact that you, your science advisers, and the available evidence had acknowledged this possibility from the outset (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1116)?6 Would you show no remorse over a High Court verdict that condemns you for failing vulnerable patients by discharging them to social care from hospital beds without a covid test (doi:10.1136/bmj.o1098)?7…”

Respiratory protective equipment in the NHS: time to fund a cheap PAPR system

“…Peters and colleagues ask why access to respiratory protective equipment is still a problem for NHS staff when the evidence for airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is overwhelming 1…”