London Hospitals Bring Back Mandatory Face Masks

Here we go again….NHS hospitals and practices in parts of London have reintroduced mandatory face masks amid a recent surge of flu cases.

The move has been introduced to “protect our communities from these viruses” according to the NHS Lewisham and Greenwich Trust

Face coverings must be worn by patient-facing colleagues and those visiting patient-facing areas.

The Evening Standard reports: Visitors to hospitals in the boroughs of Lewisham and Greenwich — including University Hospital Lewisham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Mary’s Hospital, and other community sites — will be asked to wear masks, with dispensers providing masks at most main entrances.

In response to an uptick in respiratory infections, which is often the case during the winter months, several health facilities nationwide have adopted similar face mask guidelines.

Southmead Hospital near Bristol has mandated face masks for those working in the “emergency zone” while Salisbury District Hospital in Wiltshire is instructing people to wear face masks on wards where patients have flu-like symptoms.

The increased return of face masks across UK health facilities comes as the nation grapples with a considerable uptick in flu cases that have added pressure to health systems.

As of this week, eight hospitals have declared critical incidents as they grapple with “exceptionally high demands” and a surge of patients.

A surge of patients reporting respiratory infections at these facilities has increased hospital wait times, overwhelming health staff and services.

Wes Streeting, the UK’s Health Secretary, admitted this week that he was “ashamed” by the long waits and delays facing the UK healthcare systems, adding that flu was a “big problem.”

“It breaks my heart because… I’ve seen this when I’ve been shadowing the ambulance service on ride outs – we are taking people in ambulances to emergency departments to die because then there isn’t the right care available at the right time in the right place, including end-of-life care,” he told LBC radio.