Extended use of facemasks and face coverings guidance in hospitals, primary care and wider community healthcare settings (referred to as 'Healthcare settings'): Equality Impact Assessment

Extended use of facemasks and face coverings guidance in hospitals, primary care and wider community healthcare settings (referred to as ‘Healthcare settings’)

Team - Healthcare Associated Infection Policy and Strategy Team

Directorate - Chief Nursing Officer Directorate

This equality impact assessment (EQIA) has been carried out in retrospect with the aim to assess and evaluate the impact of withdrawing the extended use of face masks and face coverings guidance in healthcare settings on the wider population and those with protected characteristics.

Aim of withdrawing the extended guidance

Note - “Extended use” relates to the extension of the national infection prevention and control guidance on the use of face masks in healthcare settings.

• The use of facemasks has been one of the key interventions employed over the course of the pandemic to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the health of our general population.
• The purpose of withdrawing the extended use of face masks and face covering policy is to revert to the robust processes and policies that were in place pre-pandemic. Thanks to widespread population immunity through vaccination and reduced harm as a result of COVID treatments, we are now living with COVID-19 as one of several respiratory infections.
• · The aim was therefore to have the appropriate interventions in place for the current stage of the pandemic, which are based on the best available scientific evidence, the balance between risks and harms, and are aimed at protecting the highest number of people.