50M Face Masks Meant for NHS Workers Recalled Over Safety Concerns

Fifty million face masks purchased for the National Health Service (NHS) have been recalled due to safety considerations.

The masks were meant for use by front-line workers, but they have been deemed unwearable, according to the BBC. A total of £252m was spent on a contract with Ayanda Capital that included the NHS masks, which have turned out to be unusable due to ear-loop fastenings not fitting correctly. 

Safety precautions are strict, and the NHS masks must be suitable enough to keep everyone safe. According to the government, the masks fell short of expectations, and the prime minister is “disappointed” in the quality of the NHS masks supplied by Ayanda Capital.

The masks, specifically FF2 respirators, apparently do not fit tight enough, and this has become a cause for concern. 

A nonprofit legal rights organisation called The Good Law Project challenged the government’s safety equipment contract, and this challenge began the recall of the NHS masks.

The government initiated the 50-million-mask recall after attention was brought to the fit of the masks and the government decided they were not suitable for use, Business Insider reported.

In the early stages of the pandemic, there were dangerously low supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the government raced to find new suppliers of NHS masks, the BBC reported.

The scramble for NHS masks as the pandemic was at its high point was intense due to all healthcare firms fighting to have enough PPE. The fears that masks would be scarce in hospitals had the U.K. government frantically seeking PPE from firms that had any available. 

The NHS mask deal with Ayanda Capital was negotiated by the adviser to the U.K. Department for International Trade, Andrew Mills, according to Business Insider.

Mills is also a board member of Ayanda Capital.

According to Mills, the decision to have a contract with Ayanda Capital was not due to his role as a government adviser. 

In order to be effective and protective, there needs to be a tight seal between the mask and the face of the wearer. The wearers of the NHS masks are obligated to do a “face-fit test” to see if the mask fits properly, according to the BBC.

Some masks fasten around the head and some around the ears. The recalled NHS masks are equipped with ear loops that are too loose-fitting.

According to the government, head-fastening masks fit more securely. 

Ayanda Capital contends that the NHS masks met the criteria the company was given, Metro reported, but the government disagrees.

It is uncertain what will happen to the 50 million unusable, recalled masks. For the time being, they have been deposited at Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) warehouses. It is possible that the NHS masks will be reprocessed. 

Another 150 million NHS masks have been supplied by Ayanda Capital, and the government asserts these other masks are adequate for use. These masks by still have to be tested to prove their suitability before they are given to doctors and nurses in healthcare facilities, Metro reported.

“For months we were told that the government was purchasing the right equipment for the frontline,” Labour leader Keir Starmer said, according to The Guardian. “Yet again it hasn’t happened. There needs now to be an investigation, an inquiry, into what went wrong with this particular contract because it’s just not good enough to people who need that protective equipment that we find ourselves in this position.”

What do you think will be the outcome of the NHS mask debacle? Do you think the government will need to be specific with the safety requirements they demand, or will companies like Ayanda Capital be held accountable for producing less-than-adequate PPE? Let us know in the comments.

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