Covid-safe mask for ENT procedures offered to NHS for free

A protective device against coronavirus for at-risk doctors is to be provided free to the NHS.

The SNAP device for ear, nose and throat surgeons was created after Burton-upon-Trent consultant Amged El-Hawrani died with COVID-19 in March. He was one of the UK's first senior medics to die with the virus, his death showing that they were at serious risk.

The device clips over patients' masks to prevent the virus spreading through coughs and sneezes. It was developed by surgeons Ajith George and Chris Coulson, with the help of Aston University, who said nasendoscopy procedures - where a small flexible tube fitted with a camera is inserted into the nose - often made patients cough, splutter and sneeze.

It works by clipping on to either side of a normal surgical face mask, creating a hole for an endoscope to be inserted while keeping the patient's nose and mouth completely covered. When it is removed, a one-way valve closes the hole so no virus can escape.

"We were concerned about the safety of doctors but also about the risk of missed diagnoses and opportunities for treatment of patients," Mr Coulson, an ENT surgeon working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said.

"Our aim has been to produce an easy-to-use, cheap device that would allow clinicians to return to routine practice."

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Source: BBC News, 16 September 2020