Face Masks

[Planigale]

The object of respirators at hospitals is to protect both patients and staff.
Why do you think that the major risk to medical/clinical staff is from friends, family and colleagues in a non-work situation? Is there a study you can refer to? If you were right, one would expect all professions to be exposed to approximately the same risk, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hospital staff (and teachers!) appear to be much more exposed than others. Do you think that's because their friends and acquaintances are more contagious than the friends and acquaintances of people in other professions?
And what makes you think that the major risk to patients is not from staff but from other patients, family and friends? Patients probably see more hospital staff than family and friends, and hospital staff tend to get infected more than others, so, one on one, that would make hospital staff more contagious to patients than others.
I suspect that you don't like the idea that hospital staff infect patients and thus prefer to assume that they don't.
Studies, please, or at least an argument.
What makes you think that the problem doesn't exist?
I no longer see anybody with face masks/respirators. If I saw anybody with surgical masks or wearing respirators incorrectly, I would give them credit for trying and tell them what they were doing wrong. As it is, it's hopeless to do more than what I'm doing here.

It's not a competition! Remember the Swiss cheese model. No single precaution eliminates the risk of contagion entirely. There should be better ventilation and air purification at schools, factories, offices, supermarkets etc. We know that it lowers the level of contagion, but so does masking up.

Please follow the thread; I previously posted the evidence (unlike many others who just assert facts). However, just for you I shall re-post.

COVID-19 Infections in Health Care Personnel by Source of Exposure and Correlation With Community Incidence - PMC​

This study suggests that risk of exposure to COVID-19 in healthcare personnel approximates community risk levels, provides support for safety measures in the workplace and emphasizes the need for prevention in the community. Keywords: COVID-19, ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Household (27.1%) and community (15.6%) exposures were the most common sources of infection.Occupational exposures accounted for 3.55% of HCP infections.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670120300128

Community and co-worker contacts are important sources of viral respiratory illness in healthcare personnel, while exposure to patients with recognized respiratory infections is not associated.

The problem is the major risk is NOT patient to health care staff or vice versa; so you are arguing that shifting to higher level masking that is technically more difficult to achieve and more expensive is worth while to address a small risk; whilst leaving the main risk unaddressed. FP95 masks have to be individually fitted, they have to be tight fitting which is hard to maintain on a long shift. If you don't have a tight fitting mask throughout then the theoretical benefit of an FP95 masks over a loser fitting more comfortable surgical mask ceases. You also need to think about people with odd shaped faces, and beards. Most FP95 masks are designed for male faces and are harder to fit to female faces.

To protect health care staff, mask wearing needs to be extend to rest rooms and canteens and out of work contacts and home.

Many of my patients found social distancing and masking resulted in a dramatic reduction in chest infections and continue to do so. "My health was at its best during lockdown". So I don't deny that social distancing and masking is effective, but it needs to be extended in to your whole life to be effective. The culture in many Asian countries with high mask use in general life is rational. The most effective targeted intervention would be to encourage anyone with respiratory symptoms to mask up and socially distance. I despair when snively children are brought in to hospital to visit their vulnerable grand parents.