IF masks had to remain in health and social care forever - would you stay?

[airplanebluesky]

Purely hypothetical.

Have heard masks 'may' have to remain in 'certain settings' long term - who knows what that means but health and social care are the likely candidates for this given the mandatory vaccine rumblings and 'protect the NHS' mantra.

Would you remain in your roles if it meant mask wearing long term?

I'm a highly specialised clinician in the NHS and I don't mind masks at the moment given the circs but as a hospital speech and language therapist it is a MAJOR barrier to our communication input. It's also hot and stuffy in hospitals and shifts are long. I don't think I'd stay in the profession, it's just not what I'd want to do long term but I accept there may be a cultural shift in NHS working that's just not for me!

@qualitygirl

As I said already *@wasthataburp* I used them daily pre pandemic...I don't work in a hospital.

Sorry, I actually just meant if visiting a hospital!

Final year student OT,working on final placement. Testing twice a week,double jabbed. Working in community. Still have to wear a mask,visor,apron and gloves.
Next week,I have to go and work with a young lad with autism to help him work on his social skills, particularly eye contact. And I'm meant to do that with 80% of my face covered up.

Ridiculous

i've already had two accidents through working a physical job in a hot environment. glasses steam up, cant see.

also, my glasses actually fall off as sweating so much they slide down using the mask nylon string as a train track!! glasses frame is now cracked under one lens

i'm in retail and i can see us and customers still having to wear them for a long time yet

I work 13 hour days as an NHS nurse I get some people have always worn masks but it can be significantly different. On my ward the temp regularly gets above 34 in the summer, yesterday was 25 in the ward bays. I have to wear a mask, apron and gloves plus my very thick uniform, it is awful. Alot of staff feel unwell, we are sweating, trying to bed bath/carry out clinical skills in very close contact is awful.

Also patients with poor hearing struggle, giving bad news in a mask is horrible it really is a barrier. I have to say I remove my mask at times as patients cannot hear. I don't have hearing problems but now realise how much I read people's lips as well as listening.

I really hope they go unless we really need them, high local numbers or flu etc. I won't leave, but at times when it is hot, wearing my mask for 12 out of my 13 hour day I do feel like I can't breathe.

@Bluebird2021 you are simply not wearing them right I'm afraid. I wear a mask and safety glasses all day at work and most of the day pre pandemic. They don't steam up. But also if you can't manage you can get a wax (I think it's a wax) to put on you glasses to make them anti fog.

@Rupertpenrysmistress it is unbearable in Summer. I’ve been in wards where the temperature hit nearly 40 degrees due to a AC malfunction. Even on a normal Summers day I sweat constantly in the nasty synthetic heavy uniform. I once asked if we could wear scrubs and was told no. During the pandemic we have all been allowed to wear them, and I don’t think there can possibly be any argument against them now in a heatwave.

[quote qualitygirl]@Bluebird2021 you are simply not wearing them right I'm afraid. I wear a mask and safety glasses all day at work and most of the day pre pandemic. They don't steam up. But also if you can't manage you can get a wax (I think it's a wax) to put on you glasses to make them anti fog. [/quote]
supersavers said to not use that, it removes lens coating causing damage

the anti fog wipes only work in normal conditions' work in a greenhouse doing a physical lifting carrying job, up and down a ladder etc in heavy steel toe cap boots

i've worn several different masks in several different ways.....what am i doing wrong?

*SPECSAVERS!!!

spudina we have been issued scrubs but not theatre scrubs, the exact same material as my current uniform 😩. Its just so hot! I get the need for IC but we all feel so awfully.

For a SLT I really would hope that masks won't be a fixture. Also for any situation where they create a barrier.

In certain situations, maybe they should remain, as pp suggested paramedics where there could be increased infection risk.

Getting rid of blanket rule does make it tricky, but allowing some professional discretion would seem appropriate.

No, I'd look for another job. I'm beginning to struggle with wearing it all day in the heat and it's only going to get warmer

I’m in mental health. Worked face to face through the whole thing apart from 4 weeks of lockdown 1. Never insisted on masks, but I don’t work in the NHS. If the NHS continued to insist on them, I wouldn’t work for them, I’d stay private/freelance where I get to decide for myself whether or not I think masks are worth the discomfort and the impediment to therapeutic communication. Most of my patients have SEN, so are exempt anyway.

I don't mind for myself but have removed my mask when talks no to deaf patients relying on lip reading cues.

I’d continue to wear them for patient contact but I’d really like to remove in the corridors and nursing station just to get a break from them.

My DD’s (private) SLT doesn’t wear and mask and neither does DD. Weekly face to face appointments, we went private before Covid but I’m so glad we did as NHS still aren’t offering paediatric appointments except online.

I have to say it took me a really long time to get used to them. I wouldn't be without it now. I can yawn/do whatever under my mask and most importantly I feel more protected when reviewing patients with highly contagious illnesses that I previously caught. Also I feel less conscious when my skin is bad on a particular day. I wear them so much at work I feel somewhat naked when out of work seeing friends

I would be pleased to keep them in the nhs tbh.

Agreed it would be nice to have the rules relaxed away from patients especially in warm weather though!

Mental health here
I don't mind masks but I have worked without them based on clinical circumstances. I don't want to assess an unknown patient with a paranoid psychosis in a mask. It breaks down communication in an already difficult situation.
Really happy for teams etc to continue

I don't really notice mine anymore, I've tried to take a swig of cold coffee while wearing it, more than once 😂

It does impact on communication/trust with the more frail and those with dementia or hearing problems, which can be an issue, but overall I'd welcome them being a standard part of PPE when dealing with people who have an illness (cold, c-diff, noro etc) to protect us and the other residents better.

Most of the junior doctors, would prefer to keep wearing them in A&E / on medical wards.

airplanebluesky I can see its difficult on wards, but in clinics with ambulatory patients coming to appointments in a consulting room our SLT and OT use perspex screens, and only put masks on if they need to be next to the patient, on the same side of the screen, or in corridors/ fetching patients. Isn't that an option in non ward contexts?

I work in a residential learning disabilities setting and we don't have to wear masks any more as all our residents are double vaccinated and our local incidence is 9 per 100,000. If the incidence goes above 50 unvaccinated/ partially vaccinated colleagues will have to wear them, and if it goes up to 100 everyone will including fully vaccinated. I'm obviously completely fine with that.

We still wear them in shops and schools and all public indoor spaces here. Its been FFP 2 particle filtering masks for everyone for a long time here - only children up to age 14 are allowed to wear cloth "community" masks.

I'm in Germany, things seem to be a bit of a different way around to the UK by the sounds of it.

NHS in the community. Haven't been making patients wear masks at all and ours have come off if communication is otherwise impossible.

Also just been liberated from plastic aprons and gloves (mostly).

Very happy and have been desperately avoiding getting another job in an in-patient environment because I'd struggle with all the PPE. And I love community.

I’m in ICU so it’s actually the norm to be masked when treating patients with various respiratory illnesses. I first intubated someone using what are now called ‘covid precautions’ 15 years ago. So no, it won’t change things for me. This is the reality of clinical practice.

I think it unlikely that your shifts are longer, more difficult or stuffier than mine.....

I’m an RMN in inpatient older persons NHS, I hate the masks. I won’t leave because this is what I’ve done for 20 years but I have grown to hate them.
Fine when it’s cold, this last week or 2 in the heat has been really

@MissTrip82 no one said they had it worse than you 🙄 not really the point of the thread.

Interesting that rules have changed in different settings - dropped level 2 PPE bar masks, no masks if double vaccinated. Nothing has changed where I work and there is no wiggle room on ep anything currently. And I live in one of the lowest incidence rates areas.

Just to reintegrate again - I have NO problem with masks and can see the benefit in many areas of clinical work. My question was if there is a larger cultural shift to NHS post of any kind = masked at all times, would it change if you wanted to see your years service out in the NHS or move on elsewhere? Or change whether new starters wanted to join the NHS etc.

@AnnaMagnani

NHS in the community. Haven't been making patients wear masks at all and ours have come off if communication is otherwise impossible.

Also just been liberated from plastic aprons and gloves (mostly).

Very happy and have been desperately avoiding getting another job in an in-patient environment because I'd struggle with all the PPE. And I love community.

I'm on placement in the community and we still have to Don visor,mask,apron and gloves.

I did think this was overkill. Do different NHS trusts have different procedures do you know?