Shropshire hospital staff targeted with abuse over mask rules

Dr Catriona McMahon, chair of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, condemned the abuse during a meeting of its board of directors yesterday.

She said incidents had increased in recent weeks and called it "wholly unacceptable".

Despite the rules on wearing masks in other settings changing earlier this year, staff, patients and visitors were still required to wear face coverings at the county's hospitals.

Dr McMahon has appealed to the public to follow the rules to keep themselves and others safe.

She said: "It is critical we continue to take all necessary measures to prevent and control the spread of Covid within our hospitals.

"We appreciate that is challenging for some of our patients and some people who visit.

"Whilst the requirements in wider society are changing, it is critical we remember in hospitals and other healthcare settings we have always asked colleagues, patients and visitors to protect everyone we care for by wearing masks and to respect social distancing and to follow the rules around visiting.

"We must remember that many of these patients actually include some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We do ask for your continued support.

"The vast majority of people who do come to our hospitals are respecting those requests and we are exceptionally grateful.

"However, over the last few weeks we've had some incidents of my colleagues within the hospitals receiving verbal abuse over these requirements.

"We've seen that level of abuse actually increasing over the last week or two. It's wholly unacceptable for any staff member to be addressed in this way.

"All my colleagues have the right to work without fear and concern. We will take all necessary action to ensure they are able to work in this way."

She said the trust's hospitals – Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal in Telford – were continuing to care for around 30 to 40 Covid patients at any point in time.

"This is before Omicron, we don't know what the impact of Omicron is going to be at this point in time," she added.

"It's really important we continue to support these patients and support the other patients requiring our care."

She also appealed for the community to work together to help manage the pressures across what will be a "difficult winter". People are asked to ensure they are fully vaccinated and think about the options available before attending A&E in non life-threatening circumstances.