Coronavirus: Front line hospital workers at no greater risk of infection than support staff, says study

Front line healthcare workers are at no greater risk of catching COVID-19 than other NHS workers, according to research published in The Lancet.

The study compared infection rates in Newcastle hospitals between doctors and nurses who deal directly with coronavirus patients and other hospital and administrative staff.

It found that of 1,029 staff tested, the rate of infection among directly patient-facing staff was 15.4%, while for non-patient clinical workers it was 16.3%. For non-clinical staff, such as finance or IT workers, the risk of becoming infected was actually higher at 18.4%

The researchers at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, concluded that current isolation protocols and personal protective equipment (PPE) appear sufficient to prevent hospital transmission.

Dr Christopher Duncan, Research Fellow at Newcastle University, said his team's study was "reassuring" for patient facing workers.

Dr Duncan said: "We looked at people who work in finance or IT or in clerical support roles, so they work for the trust, but they don't come into contact with patients, and those on the front line.

"This is reassuring because our suspicion was that front line staff who are coming into contact with patients with COVID-19 would be at a higher risk of testing positive for coronavirus, than would staff who don't come into contact with patients.

"But actually we found that those groups of staff were at very similar risk of testing positive, so that is reassuring for front line staff that the PPE they are using is effective.

"This study looked at testing happening from the second week in March, so that was the period when the pandemic in the UK really started to develop."