Thread by @petermbenglish

I was pleased to hear that @theRCN calls for better PPE (specifically, for higher specification masks) were the lead item on the news this morning. This shameful andegregious failure to protect staff will no doubt feature in the eventual public enquiry.
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We, at @TheBMA, have been calling for this for many months now.

There is no "low risk" patient-facing setting. I am horrified whenever I go into a hospital.
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This is me, wearing the sort of mask worn by NHS staff. A "fluid-resistant surgical mask" or FRSM as the guidance calls them. This mask is better-fitting than many I've seen on staff; and I'm wearing it, correctly, properly covering my nose and chin.
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The gapping at the side isn't as bad as I've seen with many hospital staff. It provides quite good large droplet "source control" (protecting others from the large droplets I emit eg when speaking).
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It provides some aerosol source control, but gapping and the relatively loose weave compromise this.

It protects me reasonably well against large droplets, but not well against aerosols.
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This is me, still with wild lockdown hair, but wearing an inexpensive FFP2 mask. It's just as comfortable as the FRSM, but it fits better (less gapping at the side, for example), and it's a tighter weave. It protects me more effectively than a FRSM, especially…
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…especially against aerosols.

Most UK hospitals are terribly designed for air quality. Many have windows that can't be opened, and clinic rooms and offices with no windows at all. Crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces, aerosols accumulate, so…
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…so adequate respiratory protection in the form of higher specification masks are essential to protect people who spend many hours, daily, working in these conditions.

So I am delighted to see that the @theRCN has made this into the news, with @TheBMA's full support.
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@theRCN @TheBMA @threadreaderapp unroll