PPE shortages compromising safety of NHS heroes

Medical staff still don't have the latest PPE equipment to protect them from coronavirus. | 2020 Getty Images

IT cannot be reiterated often enough that NHS staff are Britain’s frontline troops in the battle to beat coronavirus, and if our doctors and nurses are to win this fight, they must have the right personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimise the chances of falling ill.

Worryingly, the evidence coming out of hospitals from the medics upon which the nation is reliant is that there are acute shortages of PPE.

Today’s revelation that staff are hiding it, or keeping it under lock and key, to ensure that scare supplies are not snatched is deeply concerning.

These shortages must be addressed by the Government immediately.

It is certainly true that  the speed and scale of the global spread of Covid-19 has led to intense pressure on supplies of PPE across the world, but nevertheless they have to be found.

One of the gravest threats to Britain’s ability to contain this virus, and save the lives of those who contract it, is the capacity of the NHS being compromised by large numbers of its staff becoming ill themselves and unable to work.

The Government has already relaxed some rules to enable the manufacturing of PPE to be stepped up, but in the light of what NHS staff reveal today, it should be an absolute priority that the issue is looked at again in order to ensure that more supplies are sourced and delivered to hospitals without delay.

Doctors and nurses have to be protected at all costs.

The support of the  Army, and the establish-ment of what are  effectively field hospitals that stand ready to treat large numbers of patients, are of immense help to the NHS.

But such measures will be undermined without adequate PPE, which could result in this national emergency becoming even worse.

That cannot be allowed to happen.

PPE shortages compromising safety of NHS heroes – The Yorkshire Post says