A shocking report linked face masks to a patient's death in 2020 after they "aggravated" communication problems between doctors. The error caused the administration of a fatal overdose to a patient named John Skinner, ruled a coroner's report.
The victim was admitted to one of Britain's socialized National Health Service's hospitals in May 2020 after suffering from seizures. An unnamed junior doctor administered 50 mg/kg instead of 15 mg/kg of phenytoin, which is an anti-epileptic drug, after he misheard a senior doctor's orders.
It was determined that the doctor's instructions were muffled by the mask he was wearing. According to a report, Skinner later died of acute heart failure and phenytoin toxicity within 15 minutes of being given the fatal dose of the medication at Watford General Hospital.
The junior doctor gave Skinner 3,500 mg of phenytoin, which significantly exceeded the recommended daily dose of 200 mg to 500 mg a day, which should be taken as one or two doses.
Face coverings and a "failure in verbal communication"
Graham Danbury, the assistant coroner for Hertfordshire since 1987, reported that the doctor's face coverings had contributed to a "failure in verbal communication" that resulted in the overdose.
Danbury submitted a "prevention of future deaths" report, where he wrote that the "foreseeable" tragedy could happen again unless the NHS updated its procedures.
While Danbury did not push for the removal of masks for healthcare staff, he suggested that hospitals create procedures that made use of "clearer and less confusable means of communication and expression of number" to prevent the risk of future deaths in patients. (Related: Medical professionals, students decry mask mandates and other Covid measures in schools.)
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, the trust responsible for Watford General Hospital, released a statement in response to Skinner's death. The trust said they now have "a comprehensive action plan" in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.
To date, there are no reports of any arrests or criminal investigations that occurred following Skinner's death.
Face masks also interfering with communications in schools
The U.K. government has already acknowledged that masks can hinder communication. To address this, the government lifted the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mask mandate for students at schools.
Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi said the move was necessary because face masks "inhibit learning."
In January 2022, Britain's Department of Education also released a report which revealed that 80 percent of pupils think masks "made it difficult to communicate." Additionally, 55 percent of students reported that wearing one "made learning more difficult."
Almost all secondary school leaders and teachers agree with the students and 94 percent of them believe face coverings at school "made communication between teachers and students more difficult."
The 2022 report also found that masks concealing a speaker's lips were linked "to lower performance, lower confidence scores and increased perceived effort on the part of the listener."
Updated mask mandates in the UK
People in Northern Ireland and England are no longer legally required to wear face masks in most public spaces, but face coverings are still recommended in some places. Meanwhile, masks are still required in many situations in Scotland and Wales.
In England, face masks are still required in healthcare settings, like care homes and GP surgeries. The government advises citizens to wear face coverings in enclosed or private spaces where they interact with people they do not know.
Masks are also required on public transport in London, including the Tube (the London Underground). Passengers can be refused entry or told to leave for not complying. A lot of major retailers, such as John Lewis, Lidl, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose, have asked staff and customers to keep wearing face masks inside store premises.
More related stories:
California reinstates mask mandates in indoor public spaces… even for the vaccinated.
Fauci says people will have to wear masks inside airplanes… FOREVER.
SURVITUDE: Sydney residents continue to wear masks even after NSW dropped mask mandate.
Dr. Jane Ruby: Masks CANNOT prevent COVID-19 spread – Brighteon.TV.
PA school district apologizes for incident involving teacher taping mask to student’s face.
Watch the video below to learn why wearing masks all day can be bad for your health.
This video is from the Free4eva Media channel on Brighteon.com.
For more stories about in-hospital deaths, visit HospitalHomicide.com.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.