Covid infections among hospital staff drastically cut after PPE upgrade in Cambridge

  • Watch an interview about the study with Dr Mike Weekes from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge

Research has found that there was a big reduction in coronavirus infections among staff at Addenbrooke's after the Cambridge hospital upgraded the type of face masks used on covid wards.

The hospital switched from fluid resistant surgical masks (FRSMs) to filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) respirators in December.

The change resulted in a dramatic fall in infections by up to 100%.

Public Health England (PHE) had, until recently, recommended that healthcare workers caring for Covid-19 patients should use surgical masks as respiratory protective equipment.

However, guidance has since been updated so organisations can assess the risk and provide FFP3 respirators where appropriate.

Credit: ITV Anglia

Addenbrooke's has been testing staff for Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic and found that healthcare workers caring for Covid-19 patients were at greater risk of infection than staff on non-covid wards.

After the change, the incidence of infection on the two types of ward was similar.

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed but is being released early because health bosses say there is an urgent need to share information relating to the pandemic.