Safety

Healthcare staff safety is paramount as it’s clearly undesirable to create further casualties by secondary contamination. In many incidents, doctors don’t need PPE as the chemicals don’t cause secondary contamination, e.g. chlorine.

If needed, PPE should be an all-in-one chemical-resistant overall with integral head/visor and hands/feet worn with a mask, gloves and boots [4].

PPE is very hot and does not allow for manual dexterity so minimal treatment can therefore be provided while wearing it. Staff must be rotated regularly and frequently to avoid the inevitable fatigue which ensues with wear.