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!

I am a nurse and I hate the thought of masks staying.

Such a large part of our role is communication and forming trusting and empathetic relationships and I find masks act as a barrier to both.

I really think that the non-verbal communication skills that are displayed via facial expressions and smiles are important and I can’t wait for the day where that becomes possible again.

I will be extremely disappointed if masks have to stay - they somehow make the nurse-patient relationship more medicalised and detached and that’s the opposite of what we all want.

@wonderstuff123 we were masks, aprons and gloves until this week and supposedly eye protection but no-one was doing it).

New guidance has come out and we've been downgraded!

However clearly different trusts were doing different things as it was embarrassing to be in a patient's home all kitted up and a District Nurse come in with just a mask on. And home carers have been wearing masks and gloves only as far as I can see all along.

Not in healthcare but was reading with interest. Our speech therapist wore a mask with a clear plastic screen so my DD could see her mouth as she spoke. It was very helpful.

Home Carer here, we're still in gloves, aprons and masks before we enter client homes - have only dropped face shields last week - so clearly a lot of variation across the country. While it makes communication harder, we have seen much fewer colds and chest infections across the last year so I can't see masks staying as an entirely bad thing. It definitely wouldn't make me quit my lifelong career, having survived the last 15 months of hell anything to reduce of unknowingly spreading death and disease to dozens if vulnerable clients is worth it to me.