PPE required for the front line “for women”

There is growing concern that common personal protective equipment (PPE), which usually has a unisex structure, often does not match women properly.

PPE is important to protect frontline workers not covered by Covid-19.

The wellness department said the kit was designed to protect “gender equality.”

Still, according to 2018 NHS electronic statistics, healthcare workers have declared that the smallest size is too large for some women, who account for 77% of NHS employees.

If it is too large, it can be quite unsuccessful in providing a complete barrier to the virus.

“PPE is unisex and is made to be both men and women safe, but despite the fact that some products are available in different sizes for two smaller and larger frames. , ”The Wellbeing Ministry said in a statement.

However, the Royal College of Nursing describes personal protective equipment as “problematic” and “restrictive” when it can be worn for up to 12 hours during a shift and “one measurement matches all”. PPE incorporates gloves, masks, gowns and face shields.

“Nurses can reveal that it’s very difficult to deal with patients when the device is cumbersome and can burn and get sick.”

Some female NHS staff are accessing social media to share their photos carrying improperly matched PPE.

“What else do you get in two measurements?”

Dr. Argavan Salles, a home scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine, is currently working on an intensive care unit at a medical center in New York.

“The N95 mask has only two dimensions, which is strange,” she said.

“What else arrives in two measurements? We recommend that every face in the world be in one of two dimensions.”

Dr. Salles reported that a small size fits her, but it’s hard to get.

“Yesterday I was working with someone who had a broken N95 strap. She couldn’t find a new one. [in the small size] She has experienced living, “she said.

Dr. Salles claimed that two masks were provided to finish the two months. She said minimum size gloves and goggles are often too important.

“My hands are 6-dimensional and have 6.5 gloves,” she claimed.

“Goggles are definitely very good [protective] Seal, but do not shape. “

“Strange shape”

The rise is only asking for more PPE built exclusively for women, and is behind the concerns of getting PPE overall.

Creator Caroline Cleared Perez investigated this issue, despite producing her ebook Invisible Females shortly before the pandemic.

“Most of our own protection products are made to shape the male system, so for example,” small “is a bit smaller for an adult male than a girl, or normal for a female.” She explained. , In a new scientist podcast.

“This is a particularly serious problem in this situation. Properly it’s really weird because the majority of health care workers are women and they have information such as” Your confrontation is in a weird way. ” It’s not a condition, it’s really a female form. “

Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Leader Issued a statement Called on the Welsh Government to provide a better PPE kit for women.

She described it as a “scandal within a scandal” of basic PPE availability.

“We’re asking women to live a therapeutic environment for the NHS and society, and we can’t even offer PPE, or when we do, it’s not the right size.”

Women’s Equality Celebration tweeted that it was “totally embarrassing” that women were wearing kits made for good men.

Report posted in 2017“Most PPE is based largely on the characteristics and characteristics of male groups from solid international hubs in Europe and the United States,” said TUC, a member of the trade union.

“As a result, the fact that most girls, and many men, don’t follow the design of this traditional male employee makes it difficult to get an acceptable snug PPE,” he explains. I am.

It’s really an issue that’s been well pointed out by consumers: political journalist Marie Le Conte has murmured her disappointment in owning exclusive research for a female mask. The past is too important for my experience, “she explained.