“It seems unreasonably cruel that dying people cannot see relatives’ faces” – the harms of continued masking in healthcare
ON 1 JUNE, NHS England quietly changed its mask guidance for healthcare settings to end the so-called ‘requirement’ for staff, patients and visitors to wear face coverings in most wards and departments. This sounds welcome enough – until you realise the new guidance largely passes the buck down to local hospitals and GP surgeries, where we are seeing masking …