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. 2020 May 15;20(3):242-247.
doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0143.

Evaluating the national PPE guidance for NHS healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

John P Thomas  1 , Anand Srinivasan  2 , Chandu S Wickramarachchi  3 , Parveen K Dhesi  4 , Yat Ma Hung  4 , Ajay V Kamath  4
Affiliations

Evaluating the national PPE guidance for NHS healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

John P Thomas et al. Clin Med (Lond). .

Abstract

Tragically, many of the infections and deaths recorded in the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have occurred in healthcare workers. Some have attributed this to inadequate provision of personal protective equipment (PPE). In the UK, several organisations have voiced their concerns that the national PPE guidance issued by Public Health England is inadequate. Despite recent revisions to these guidelines, concerns remain that they offer insufficient protection to frontline NHS healthcare workers. In this report, we evaluate whether these concerns are merited, through critical appraisal of the available evidence, review of international PPE guidance, and consideration of the ethical implications.

Keywords: COVID-19; NHS; SARS-CoV-2; pandemic; personal protective equipment.

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Comment in

  • Ethical considerations.
    Porther R. Porther R. Clin Med (Lond). 2020 Jul;20(4):e131. doi: 10.7861/clinmed.Let.20.4.1. Clin Med (Lond). 2020. PMID: 32675163 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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