23 October 2023 , 16:33
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Four hospitals have asked staff, visitors and patients to wear face masks in all clinical areas following a "significant" rise in Covid cases.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates four hospitals in the city, said anyone entering its facilities must now wear a face covering to prevent the spread of infection. It follows similar decisions by NHS trusts across the country, including Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust in West London.
The national NHS guidance states that individual trusts can decide their own mask-wearing protocols based on the infection rate in their area. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust noted the increase in cases in and around the South Yorkshire city, and has introduced the rule at Northern General Hospital, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital and Weston Park Hospital.
In a statement, the trust said: "Along with our staff, visitors, outpatients and anyone accompanying them are asked to wear masks in all clinical areas and anywhere they will be in close contact with others for longer periods of time.
"Please ask staff if you do not have a mask and they will provide you with one. We are also asking that anyone coming into our hospitals or community hubs please sanitise their hands, keep their distance from others and avoid visiting if unwell with viral symptoms such as cough, cold or fever."
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Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford's County Hospital reintroduced face mask rules to limit the spread of respiratory diseases earlier this month. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton also said that mask wearing would return in its emergency departments and admissions units to protect vulnerable patients.
More than 12,100 new Covid cases were reported in the week up to October 14, according to the latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures. It is a drop on the 16,564 infections recorded in the seven days up to October 2 but significantly higher than the summer.
Laura Challinor, senior policy and public affairs manager at Blood Cancer UK, told the British Medical Journal: "As we go into the autumn with covid-19 cases rising and the uncertainty of a new variant, routine testing in healthcare settings should now be reinstated to monitor and mitigate the risk of covid-19 for people with weakened immune systems."