Doctors say that the staff treating Covid patients should be given more protection from the Omicron rise than thin surgical masks.
The British Medical Association, Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, and Doctors' Association UK want frontline personnel to be given FFP3 masks.
The BMA said that making the face masks standard issue would save the lives of health workers who fall ill as a result of treating Covid patients. Prof Raymond Agius, the acting chair of the doctors' union's occupational health committee, said that this is a critical point in the Pandemic.
FFP3 masks, also known as filters facepiece respirators, have been shown to reduce the number of healthcare staff who become infectious in a trial in Cambridge.
The DHSC only recommends the use of personal protective equipment in limited circumstances.
With a high transmissible new strain now circulating and clear evidence that Covid-19 spreads in small airborne particles, healthcare workers must be given the best possible protection against the virus. Agius said that surgical masks don't give enough protection against airborne transmission of Covid.
FFP3s are more expensive than surgical masks and the BMA has written to every hospital trust in England demanding that they should be used for Covid-positive patients.
The BMA believes that surgical masks are not suitable.
In its letter, it reminded hospital chiefs of their legal responsibilities to keep their staff safe from harm.
Most hospitals don't issue FFP3 respirators as standard, but a few do.
The president of the HCSA said that giving staff proper PPE would help reduce sickness absence among frontline workers who are getting Covid.
If we don't get PPE right, we risk contributing to a further wave of sickness absences when hospitals and patients can least afford it.
Paoloni said that the current reliance on inadequate fluid-resistant surgical masks is likely to leave staff vulnerable in enclosed hospital settings.
The fear is that we are seeing a cavalier approach to safety where the guidelines are once again being driven by supply issues and cost.
Paoloni said hospitals need to make FFP3s available to anyone who wants to use one instead of a surgical mask.
The BMA has written to the National Health Service England to make sure all GP practices are issued with FFP3s instead of surgical masks because family doctors often work in small, cramped surgeries.
The chair of the BMA's pensions committee said that healthcare workers in hospitals and GP surgeries are putting themselves and their families at risk.
According to the DHSC, staff should assess any likely blood and body fluid exposure risk and ensure PPE is worn that provides adequate protection against the risks associated with the procedure or task being undertaken. It only advises frontline staff to use an FFP3 if they are doing an aerosol-generating procedure, such as intubating a patient who is going on to a mechanical ventilator, and not with Covid patients generally.
The DHSC does not plan to recommend routine use of FFP3 masks.
The safety of the health service and social care staff has always been our top priority and we continue to deliver PPE to protect those on the frontline.
Guidance on the appropriate levels and standards of PPE is written by clinical experts. The guidance was updated to reflect the latest scientific understanding on how to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
Guidance will be amended if appropriate, as emerging evidence and data are continually monitored and reviewed.
