Facemasks: A thread
Let me prephase this by stating I am a doctor who works for the nhs. I have worked on covid wards, and have had covid myself. That being said, I see a lot of discussion on twitter regarding people wearing masks publically, this ranges from 1/?

Ppl stating that everyone should wear a mask & those who don’t are selfish, to ppl photoing others on public transport, in order to “shame” them. I’m not getting into a debate as to whether masks are helpful/unhelpful against covid. Since this pandemic started there have been 2/?

Thousands of studies published, many not peer reviewed. Many not worth the paper they are written on. I know how medics work and very often we become focussed on publishing first, and truth second. The lack of peer reviewing compounds this. This thread is not about that 3/?

This thread is about kindness and disability. I know many patients who will not be able to wear a facemask. There are many reasons, varying from physical to mental as to why someone would not be able to put a covering on their face. Many of these disabilities are 4/?

Hidden. This public shaming of those not wearing masks has to stop. It is not acceptable and is discriminatory. Simply put, no one has any idea as to the medical conditions of someone else on the same public transport as them, unless they are a clinican treating 5/?

Them (in which case they are breaking confidentiality) or they have access to their medical records, which is unlikely. We should not be allowing people to be shamed when using public transport in this matter and @TfL has a duty to denounce this sort of behaviour. 6/?

Those that perpetrate it should be ashamed. This pandemic has brought out some wonderful acts of kindness, but it has also brought out a hostility and a willingness to judge that has been at times, frankly appalling. I get that people are scared. As I’ve said I 7/?

Work in the nhs myself. But being afraid is no excuse for a lack of empathy. Please. Think before you tweet. You do not know what battles people are fighting or what disabilities or medical conditions they have. I have seen patients with covid over the last few 8/?

Months, but I have also seen patients try and kill themselves as a result of lockdown. Allowing our fear of covid to cloud our ability to see that others are suffering or to erode our empathy is not acceptable. Be kind. Do not post pictures of people using public 9/?

Transport without a mask online. Do not shame them. Just accept that perhaps people are dealing with things you know nothing about. And for those healthcare workers that argue that people are somehow beholden to them, that people must somehow wear a mask because 10/?

Of their “sacrifice” of being at work. Stop it. I’ve done it too. Worn the PPE in the heat for hours and the FFP3 mask. Your suffering does not mandate more suffering from other people. The NHS exists to serve the people. Not the other way around. And as health 11/?

Care providers above all you should demonstrate empathy and kindness. Which is something a lot of you are not doing in your tweets. Please stop and think. Some people may not be able to wear masks. And the correct response to a situation is almost never to take a 12/?

Photo of someone and share it online. Or to make sweeping statements about people being selfish. This solves nothing. We could all do with stopping for a minute and being a bit kinder. 13/end