Singh Thattha: UK team makes safety mask for Sikh doctors which helps them retain beards

A team of UK researchers have developed a beard covering technique for the bearded medical workers of the Sikh community to ensure that the Sikh doctors and medical experts do not have to trim their beards while catering to the needs of the patients.

The new technique has been launched by a teamled by Professor Gurch Randhawa from the University of Bedfordshire and Dr. Rajinder Pal Singh. The idea stuck the team after concerns of providing proper protective kit to the doctors of the minority community during the coronavirus pandemic.

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This new innovation will allow Sikh doctors to wear awell-fitting respirator mask without having to shave off their beard — which the community doesn't trim due to religious reasons.

"Because shaving was a mandatory pre-requisite for wearing respirator masks, many members of the faith-observant bearded community, such as Sikh, Jewish and Muslim, have been affected and have had to face the dilemma of redeployment from frontline healthcare jobs involving exposure to COVID-19," Randhawa said.

Recalling two incidents where top officials have been declined various offers due to the need of wearing a respirator orgas-mask fitting mask, Randhawa said this innovation was long-time due. "In both of these scenarios, the common theme was that the beard was considered to be an impediment to the wearing of a respirator mask. The other common principle was the concern for the health and safety of the employee. There was no alternative choice, or maybe, it was unexplored," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rajinder Pal Singh, who is based out ofManchester, also pitched the idea of having an under-mask beard cover, commonly known as 'thattha’, which can allow allow him to wear an FFP3 respirator mask. This innovative way of wearing an essential PPE for frontline medics of the minority communities was approved in thequalitative Fit Test by the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

"In the current pandemic, for safety reasons, these masks are mandatory for healthcare workers exposed to aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) involving COVID-19. Wearing these masks requires a person to be clean-shaven to allow for a robust face-mask seal. There is no evidence to suggest why, instead of shaving, the facial hair factor cannot be overcome with an under-mask beard cover," Dr. Singh said.

"The concerns for safety, as highlighted by Kamala Harris in 2005, for bearded men to fit a gas-mask for industrial reasons, as well as in 2020 for COVID-19 healthcare reasons now seem to be addressed timely by the ‘Singh Thattha’ technique," he added.