The universal use of facemasks in hospitals and other healthcare settings, to curb the spread of Covid-19, is to be relaxed from later this month.
The mandatory use of the personal protective equipment in healthcare settings was introduced during the pandemic as part of infection prevention and control measures.
The decision to remove the requirement is contained in new public health guidance from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), which will come into effect from 19 April.
From that date, the HPSC says “outside of periods of high levels of community transmission” it will be appropriate to move away from universal use of masks for healthcare workers, patients and visitors in healthcare settings.
The updated advice says “a local institutional risk assessment is appropriate to determine the timing of a move away from universal use of masks” in that particular location.
However, the use of masks will still be recommended in certain circumstances.
The HPSC says healthcare workers should use a surgical mask or respirator mask “at a minimum, for interaction with patients with respiratory viral symptoms”.
For longer periods of care, caring within a bedspace or while performing higher risk procedures, a respirator mask and eye protection are recommended for healthcare workers.
The update also recommends that masks should be offered to patients in open or multi-bed wards who are exposed to other symptomatic patients.
The guidance applies to acute hospitals settings, including community hospitals, acute mental health services and facilities providing inpatient acute rehabilitation services.
It also applies to residential care facilities and to specialist in-patient palliative care services that have assessed the service they deliver as very similar to that provided in an acute hospital setting.
The HPSC says while transmission of Covid-19 in hospital “in the early phases of pandemic response was extremely difficult to control, the situation, while it remains challenging especially during surges in community transmission, has improved greatly”.
It adds: “Vaccination and booster vaccination play a central role in limiting infection and severe disease associated with Omicron variants in the acute hospital, as in other settings.”
HSE Chief Operations Officer Damien McCallion has said it will review the HPSC’s updated advice on mask wearing and will follow the public health advice.
He said the guidance “does leave flexibility in relation to decision making around hospitals in terms of what environments masks may or may not be used in”.
He said the decision on mask use will be made locally, as in some instances some hospitals have constraints.
“And that is important in terms of the guidance issued and from a staff and public perspective that will be clearly communicated locally if there are any changes,” he added.
Emeritus Professor of General Practice at Trinity College Dublin and Tallaght GP Tom O’Dowd said he understood the logic in lifting the requirement now and that the HSPC was right to not change the advice while the winter viruses were “all about the place”.
He said he would “love to get rid of the masks … because it reinforces the whole fear thing”, and that it was particularly difficult for elderly and it made communication difficult.
Prof O’Dowd said there will still be people who will need masks, as a waiting room in winter is a “great place for a lot of viral infections flying about” but added that there was very little talk about Covid.
“We’re seeing a lot of anxiety where people have been through a very, very anxious time, it’s destabilised some people psychologically and we’re picking up the pieces for that.”
Move ‘really welcome’
A consultant in infectious diseases at Cork University Hospital has described the move to relax the rules on mask wearing as “really welcome”.
Professor Mary Horgan, who is also the President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, said the decision is “a big step in our move to normality after what has been a long period of time”.
“The last three years of the pandemic we had to wear masks within the healthcare setting, so the fact that we don’t have to wear them anymore, both the patients but also the healthcare professionals, makes us kind of feel that we’re back to normal again.”
Professor Horgan said the mandatory use of masks on a daily basis is challenging.
“But we all knew that it was for the right reason. By wearing the masks we knew we were protecting our patients because they’re particularly vulnerable when it comes to getting Covid-19.”
She added that “many of us haven’t seen our colleagues, their full faces, for nearly three years now. So the fact that we will be able to see people and interact normally as other workplaces have done is really welcome for us as healthcare professionals and everyone within the healthcare sector.”
Professor Horgan also said she expected that there will be “a national approach to this and that hospitals and other health care facilities will embrace this really welcome news and only have people wear masks if they have symptoms of respiratory tract infections.”
‘Time for older people to re-engage with society’ – ALONE
Separately, the head of ALONE – the support organisation for older people – said the message it is sending out for older people in the wake of the pandemic is for them to re-engage with society or seek support needed to build the confidence to do so.
ALONE chief executive Seán Moynihan was speaking after a recent survey of older people found one in five has not been out socially in the last six months.
He said the issue for people is twofold:
“There’s obviously a situation for some people that Covid hasn’t gone away and all the physical manifestations and signs of two metres apart are still there.”
He said it would be “great” if the Government had a plan around loneliness and a strategy and remove some of the Covid signage now because there is a lot of fear and anxiety for those who might have poor health outcomes.
For older people themselves, Mr Moynihan said it is really to start slowly, try to build up the confidence and physical capacities and “reach out” and “get back to where they were prior to the pandemic”.
Hospitals to relax facemask requirement from 19 April
Source: Viral Trends Report
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