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Doctors and nurses treating Covid-19 patients face a shortage of long protective gowns in the coming weeks, it has emerged, as anger increases over the lack of storage of the garments.
The critical shortage of dresses has meant that some trusts have already had to settle for the best available alternatives as a result of the shortage, forcing a sudden change in England’s Public Health (PHE) guidelines on wearing dresses. on Friday. Concerns are being raised within the NHS about why dresses weren’t part of the government’s pandemic reserve.
It is understood that the shortage is already forcing some NHS workers to wear the controversial new guidelines, which tell them to wear a plastic apron with coveralls in case fluid repellent gowns wear out. Workers are also advised to reuse washed aprons.
Meanwhile, senior colleagues tell surgeons not to risk themselves if they can’t wear a protective gown. Professor Neil Mortensen of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said that surgeons should not risk their health if they cannot wear liquid repellent gowns or coveralls. “We are deeply disturbed by this latest change in the orientation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which was issued without consulting expert medical agencies,” he said. “After weeks of working with PHE and our sister royal medical schools to get the proper guidance on PPE, this runs the risk of confusion and variation in practice across the country.”
Health unions warned that staff may start refusing to work if they believe the new guidelines put them at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus. Sara Gorton, chief health officer at Unison, said: “Managers must be truly honest with healthcare workers and their union representatives over the weekend. If scrubs are worn out, staff in high-risk areas may well decide that it’s no longer safe for them to work. “
Last night, the British Medical Association (BMA) also warned that it would support doctors who refused to work with inappropriate PPE.
“There are limits to the level of risk that staff can be expected to expose themselves and their patients,” said Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA board. “In the most extreme circumstances, if adequate protective measures are not implemented, physicians may refuse to risk becoming infected and inform their administration to make alternative arrangements, and the BMA will strongly support its members who have to do this. . weighty decision. “
Niall Dickson, executive director of the NHS Confederation, which represents various service providers within the NHS, said: “Once the weekend ends, you still have the same problem. It is not just hand-to-mouth in hospitals. It is hand to mouth at the national level. Although we can get through this weekend, there may be problems in the coming weeks. “
Anger over the revised safety council comes after weeks of disputes and delays over PPE for both the NHS and care workers. Ministers have repeatedly tried to address the problem, but have been hampered by global shortages and bottlenecks, and the team ordered weeks ago has yet to fully arrive.
The government will try to gain control of growing concerns about PPE by appointing Paul Deighton, the former executive director of the London Olympics organizing committee, to lead efforts to produce PPE for front-line health and care staff. social in Britain. It was also understood that a military flight was carrying 84 tons of PPE equipment from Turkey, although it was unclear what the shipment contained.
The GMB union, which represents some NHS and ambulance staff members, said confidence in health secretary Matt Hancock was “wearing thin” after the decision to change the official orientation. He also questioned the government’s claim that the guide was in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said the situation was now “critical and this is an extremely worrying situation.” He added: “We all hope that this temporary power outage will be short-lived and that dresses that were ordered long ago and should have already arrived will begin to arrive consistently and reliably rather than current adjustments and starts. “
Government sources said everything possible was being done to ensure EPP supplies flow, adding that there is great global demand. They added that government stocks were designed to cope with an influenza pandemic and that specific treatment requirements for Covid-19, a new virus, could not have been predicted. A spokesperson said the new guide had been reviewed by the Health and Safety Executive and was in line with WHO. They said the guidelines would only be necessary “in exceptional circumstances.”
PPE problems also persist in the social welfare sector. Ministers have now put in place new plans to increase testing and PPE for care workers, but some care providers said their staff had been told to make trips of up to 90 miles to the nearest testing center, practically impossible for those without a car. Some workers in Workington were directed to Gateshead, some in Scarborough to Leeds, and some in Bath to Worcester.
Meanwhile, some home care providers have already had to pay five times the normal costs for crucial PPE after being forced to seek private supplies. Sam Monaghan, executive director of healthcare provider MHA, said the concerns emerged more than a month ago. “I have a team dedicated to obtaining PPE, because the government reserve has not been sufficient or consistent. This week, I had to make a decision on the masks. They should have been 20p each. They were £ 1 each.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Assistance said there were new plans to supply PPE to social assistance providers, administered through local groups. They said: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy and that is why we are working 24 hours a day to provide the social care sector with the equipment and support they need to face this global pandemic.”
