One aspect of the original outbreak of coronavirus in March and April that has not received enough attention was the spread of the virus in NHS hospitals. With NHS staff lacking Personal Protective Equipment – and as we know now, suffering from a lack of preparedness – the virus spread at rapid speed between people in close proximity in hospitals – the very places where people expected to get better, not worse.
In this first phase of the pandemic at least one in eight patients contracted the virus while already in hospital. These patients tended to be older and frailer, and if they survived, they ended up staying in hospital on average for more than a month.
On 24 June, all NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts were required by NHS England to apply the UK recommended Infection Prevention and Control Guidance more robustly. This meant all hospital staff wearing surgical face masks irrespective of the setting, and visitors and outpatients wearing a form of face covering.
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