Nurses are forced to use out-of-date face masks that were relabelled with new expiry dates at NHS Trust where seven staff were struck down by Covid-19 on one ward

Nurses caring for coronavirus patients have been forced to use out-of-date face masks which were relabelled with new expiry dates - at an NHS Trust where seven medics were struck down by the virus on one ward.    

Staff at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust discovered boxes of face masks which expired in 2012 had been relabelled with 2022 expiry dates and deemed fit for use.

Nurses who work on the frontline in Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals also claimed they have been told to wash and reuse PPE due to shortages across the Trust.

Photographs taken inside a hospital show an expiry label reading September 2022 on one box of face masks had been scratched off to reveal the original date, September 2012.

NHS England claims only PPE items which have passed 'stringent' tests to demonstrate they are safe are issued to staff. 

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Pictured: Frontline NHS staff in PPE at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust

Dr Peter Reading, the chief executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, added PPE stocks have to be managed carefully but said the safety of staff and patients is 'absolutely paramount.'

But staff at the NHS Trust now fear expired PPE is the reason seven nurses on one ward were reportedly infected with coronavirus at the same time. 

One nurse, who contracted Covid-19 while caring for infected patients, said: 'I have just returned to work after taking a two weeks off after testing positive for the coronavirus.  

'When I got back I was unable to use one of the masks and was given a box of the others that they are using and was shocked to see that stickers had been placed over the expiry dates.

'The top sticker said they expired in 2022, then under that 2019, before it actually showed they had expired in 2012. The filters in these masks expire over time and I understand that in these particular ones, they can dissolve within five years of the expiry date.

'I did not feel comfortable using expired PPE, so I asked management for the evidence that these masks have passed a safety test. I was told the government would not provide unsafe equipment.

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Photographs taken inside a hospital show an expiry label reading September 2022 on one box of face masks had been scratched off to reveal the original date, September 2012

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NHS England claims only PPE items which have passed stringent safety tests to demonstrate they are safe is issued to staff

'I asked them numerous times to see the evidence, saying I wouldn't use the masks until I did. I was even told that because I have already had the disease that I would "have some immunity so I shouldn't worry". 

'But even if I was immune I don't want to be spreading the virus to my patients, family or others.

'Later I was given a small box of high end face masks. It was very strange, because they obviously have face masks that are not expired and safe to use, so why are they not giving all of the staff these?'

The nurse added staff on the ward have counted back the days to establish when they contracted coronavirus, and believe it may have been on-shift potentially while using expired PPE.   

'Around seven of us on the same ward where we are treating coronavirus patients tested positive at the same for the virus,' they added.

'Looking back and knowing now that we could well have been using expired PPE, I believe that this could be the only reason that I contracted it in the first place.'

Another whistleblower at the NHS Trust said they feared there would be more staff testing positive for coronavirus in the next week due to reusing PPE and shortages. 

They claim that some staff working with coronavirus patients are 'petrified' to go to work as a result. 

The nurse added the shortages became apparent in the past two weeks, and prior to this they were fully equipped with PPE and 'felt safe'.

However, equipment including face masks, plastic visors and long sleeved gowns have now 'disappeared' and the whistleblower claims they have been told by Infection Control that this level of PPE is no longer needed. 

'When the coronavirus outbreak began we were fully stocked with all of the PPE that we needed. Even though at first we were going to work sick to our stomachs with fear, once we had the correct PPE, we felt safe,' they said.

'We had long sleeved gowns, hair nets, well-fitted face masks and the plastic visors to cover our faces too. But in the past two weeks we have been told by Infection Control that they are no longer needed.' 

Dr Reading, however, said recently the Trust was provided with more than 150,000 PPE items, and had the ability to order more if stocks ran low.   

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital and Scunthorpe General Hospital, said it has only asked staff to reuse masks after the manufacturer confirmed they can be reused.

It also said it is working in line with Public Health England guidance. PPE equipment is supplied to the Trust by NHS England which it said carried out stringent tests on their safety and use.  

An NHS England spokesman said: 'The NHS's stockpiled PPE is checked as part of the stock management process operated through the NHS Supply Chain.

'This means rotating stock to make sure that items which have been there the longest are issued first. Some products may appear to have out-of-date "use by/expiration" dates or have relabelled "use by/expiration" dates.

'Please be assured products being issued have passed stringent tests that demonstrate they are safe.

'The PPE is exposed to extreme conditions for prolonged periods, to see how the product deteriorates. All that are not up to standard are destroyed and not distributed to trusts.

'We have been working with independent test facilities and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who, after being provided with scientific evidence, were content with our assessment that these are safe to use by NHS staff.'