Mask-wearing has been a fact of life in healthcare settings since the Covid-19 pandemic began, but new NHS guidance has seen the rules changed in some of the North East's hospitals.
Now, after a letter from top NHS figures laid out "next steps on infection prevention and control", health authorities have been told that mask-wearing need only be required in certain situations. According to the letter - signed by NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis and England's deputy chief nursing officer Duncan Burton - these situations include in "Covid-19/respiratory care pathways" and where hospital patients are "at high risk of infection" because, for example, they may be immunosuppressed.
New measures have been so far implemented at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust which runs the Freeman and RVI, and at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead and other locations managed by the Gateshead Health NHS Trust. At this stage, Northumbria Healthcare - the NHS trust which runs hospitals throughout North Tyneside and Northumberland - said its rules on mask-wearing were "under review".
