Covid-19: Doctors and nurses demand better PPE for wider range of procedures.

Healthcare workers are calling on the government to ensure that higher grade personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandatory for a range of procedures, such as fitting nasogastric tubes, because of the risk of aerosol transmission of SARS CoV-2. Current guidance from Public Health England is for hospital staff to wear surgical masks in most areas, with filtering face piece class 3 (FFP3) respirator masks required only in intensive care or when certain procedures are carried out that are known to generate aerosols. However, Public Health England’s current categorisation of some procedures as non-aerosol-generating is based on outdated evidence and leaves staff at increased risk of covid-19 infection, say campaigners. Fresh Air NHS, a group of frontline healthcare workers, has written an open letter to UK political leaders calling for the UK and devolved governments to recognise the importance of airborne transmission of SARS CoV-2 and ensure that measures are in place to protect staff and patients.1 The letter, signed by a thousand health professionals, calls for immediate access to FFP3 masks for all staff working with patients with …