Shropshire doctor's message from the front line: we need better mask protection

Bernie Bentick, Shropshire Councillor for Meole and a consultant in the NHS, has today issued a warning from the front line of the fight against Covid, particularly the Omicron variant.

Mr Bentick, a former consultant gynaecologist, has been volunteering at vaccination clinics in recent months and has at times found it necessary to order masks from a pharmacy to give a higher level of protection for staff and patients.

Speaking on behalf of the Liberal Democrat councillor group on Shropshire Council, Bernie said: “Omicron is growing quickly. The latest estimates are that four fifths of the cases in England, including Shropshire, are now the Omicron variant.

“If we are going to win the battle against Covid-19 and return to normality, it is important that we do not expose our key staff to infection. That’s for their own good and for the good of everyone they are dedicated to helping.

"But we are exposing our key staff to Covid through lax standards for the masks worn by most health and care workers.

“The Omicron variant of Covid 19 is three to five times more transmissible than the Delta variant. This has pushed up infection rates in Shropshire to around 1,400 per 100,000 people during the seven days to 3 January 2022, 4,700 cases in a week. That’s 3,000 more weekly cases than a month ago.

“These soaring infection rates pose a significant threat to the operation of health and care services. Although fewer people will be seriously ill with Omicron, some will be hospitalised and some will suffer long term impacts known as Long Covid.

"Health and care professionals who test positive will not be able to work as they risk passing Covid on to someone who might suffer seriously from it."

The consultant said the spread of the disease can be limited if key workers wear the best masks.

He said the masks care and health professionals wear now are loose fitting surgical masks, which prevent the wearer from exhaling droplets but they don’t protect that person from inhaling viruses.

Mr Bentick added: “We are calling on the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Shropshire Council and local MPs to demand that the Government insists that tight-fitting FFP masks are worn by NHS and care workers to protect them against viruses.

"We also calling for a meeting of the Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to consider higher standards for mask wearing as soon as possible.

“There is a lot of evidence that Covid transmission rates are significantly reduced by wearing filtering facepieces, known as FFP2 and FFP3 facemasks. Several European countries have mandated their use indoors, including Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and France.

“We need to get on top of Covid and on top of Omicron. That means much higher standards for the types of masks that health and care professionals wear every day.

“We need a major discussion on mask wearing in Shropshire. The Government needs to act urgently to ensure we can defeat Omicron and that are prepared for any Covid variants that might emerge in the future.”