NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline say they don’t feel safe after receiving a batch of face masks with a covered up expiry date from 2012.

Paramedics at the South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWAS) pulled back ‘sticker after sticker’ to find a box of masks with a use by date of May 2019  had initially been predicted to expire seven years earlier.

One staff member, who did not wish to be named, claimed manufacturers have previously told the trust that FFP3 masks – vital in protecting health workers against Covid-19 – have a lifetime of five years.

His team are now faced with an ‘ethical dilemma’ about whether to risk their health by treating patients with the old equipment, which arrived from central government reserves on Thursday.

‘It just feels a bit unprofessional, like a botched delivery. It does not fill you with confidence that this is legitimate, by covering it in stickers’ one worker told Metro.co.uk.

‘The main concern my colleagues have is how do we protect ourselves. We all come into work knowing we could get coronavirus, but people are risking coming in knowing they will at least be more protected than most [with Personal Protective Equipment].

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‘These masks have a use by date of more than seven years. It’s worrying. Staff are really concerned for their safety and the safety of their families.’

An NHS spokesperson told Metro.co.uk that boxes of face masks with expired labels have been sent to trusts across the country, but insisted the equipment has been robustly tested.

But staff at SWAS claim they had been promised new masks and say they would like to see evidence of what tests were carried out before risking their lives based on a ‘loose email’.

‘Up until today we were just about coping. This is really going to knock the confidence of staff who are already risking their own health’ the concerned worker said.

‘We need to see the evidence that they are safe. That should be delivered with the box. It is not unreasonable to expect whoever is on the 5 o’clock briefing to highlight this is happening,say they have been tested so then we are assured’.

He also raised concern that that the equipment shortage meant staff have been relying on four different models of face masks – with each one requiring a 30-40 fit test. Crews have been told not to resuscitate patients with a mask they aren’t trained on and to call for another ambulance instead.

‘We have not got time for crews to be off the road for hours. The process needs to be much more streamlined’ he said.

The danger facing NHS staff on the coronavirus frontline was brought into sharp focus today as it was revealed two more nurses and two healthcare assistants have lost their lives in the past 24 hours. Speaking at the daily Downing Street press briefing, England’s chief nursing officer paid tribute to the workers and said she worried there will be ‘more deaths’ among health care staff treating Covid-19 patients.

The government has come under stinging criticism over ‘life threatening’ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shortages.

The family of Thomas Harvey, an NHS nurse who died after treating a patient for coronavirus claim he had only been given ‘gloves and a flimsy apron’ to protect himself while carrying out his work. They hit out at the government for being slow to roll out tests and PPE for health workers risking their lives in the battle against the pandemic.

Earlier this week, the British Medical Association said health workers still face treating coronavirus patients without adequate protection, despite government assurances that 170 million masks and almost 10 million items of cleaning equipment are being dispatched to NHS trusts.

Medics worried about their safety have reported being ‘gagged’ by health bosses, with some claiming managers have threatened their careers if they speak out.

On the issue of expired masks, a SWAS spokesperson said it was a ‘national issue’ which had been discussed with NHS England, and bosses ‘remain confident that these products are safe for our staff and patients’.

An NHS spokesperson said: ‘Some products may appear to have out-of-date ‘use by/expiration’ dates or have relabelled ‘use by/expiration’ dates. Please be assured products we are issuing have passed stringent tests that demonstrate they are safe.

‘As part of the tests the PPE is exposed to extreme conditions for prolonged periods to see how the product deteriorates. Any that are not up to standard are destroyed and are not distributed to trusts.’

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