Muslim and Sikh doctors should get special PPE because of their beards, says BMA chief

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Parliament’s all-party coronavirus group told many male medics must compromise religious beliefs to wear ordinary PPE.

A cross-party inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus crisis heard that religious medical professionals should be provided with ‘suitable alternatives’ to standard PPE masks Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Muslim and Sikh doctors should be given special personal protective equipment (PPE) hoods to stop them having to shave their beards, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.A cross-party inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus crisis heard that religious medical professionals should be provided with “suitable alternatives” to standard PPE masks, which have forced many to “abandon their religious practice and shave”.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chairman of the BMA, said many doctors had felt “under pressure” to comply, and called for hospital trusts to be supplied with more suitable protection.

Author:  Amy Jones, Political Correspondent