Isolating if you are ward staff?

[trunumber]

Can anyone offer advice. If you work on a ward, you wear PPE but your patient doesn't and they test positive. Do you need to isolate? Are you at risk?

(I work in the community, I know we don't isolate but every contact we have is with someone who is also wearing a mask and socially distancing)

Thanks

No we don’t. Everyone would be isolating all the time if we did.

Thanks - Wearing the standard medical mask or the FF3 mask?

Standard mask if you don’t yet know whether they are positive or not. FF3 if you know they are positive (but not always). We also have face shields, aprons, and gloves.

Were wearing standard masks and we dont isolate if a patient turns out to be positive, our patients dont have masks only staff

Thanks I'm really appreciating the replies - I assume staff aren't catching it from patients then?

I don’t know. There have been instances of staff and patient outbreaks. And the ‘Covid Wards’ have higher rates of staff testing positive despite the FF3 masks.
When a staff member tests positive though it’s not always clear whether it was from work or the community.

I feel like staff are more likely to get it from other staff though rather than patients. With patients staff are more vigilant but I see occasional lapses in social distancing in non-patient areas.

covid wards aren't wearing ffp masks until patients are on vents or other AGPs = but they are wearing visors as well as 2r masks

We''ve been told you only isolate if you have been in contact without your mask on

Thanks everyone that's really helpful, I appreciate it

We don't, even if we're only using a standard mask. We'd have no staff otherwise. We are swabbed after an putbreak, but don't isolate whilst we wait for results. Acute medical ward.