Panicked medics ‘hiding protective kit’

HOSPITAL staff are hiding personal protective equipment (PPE) as shortages bite on the NHS frontline, medics claim.

Global shortages of the equipment medics and carers need to protect themselves against Covid-19 have led to shortfalls in the UK.

Many medics have expressed concerns. An obstetrician, working in a hospital in London, said: “PPE is locked away and only one person has got the key because people are panicking.

“Some people are grabbing some of the stuff and hiding it. There is not enough.

“Now we’re in a situation where people are having to hide PPE and store it for their own staff.” The health worker, who spoke anonymously, said: “We are working in a hospital with key workers – orderlies, porters – with a right to be protected too.

“Our orderly yesterday had just a sleep mask over her nose and mouth. They’ve said she doesn’t need a mask because she’s not in contact with Covid patients but we should treat patients as if everyone has it.”

Another doctor, who also worked in west Africa during the Ebola crisis, said: “Some people are going off sick because they don’t feel safe. Others want placement off the frontline.

“The medics’ WhatsApp online groups are awash with fear, anger and confusion about PPE.”

A junior doctor at the Royal Bolton Hospital in Greater Manchester said: “You wouldn’t send a soldier out without the necessary equipment so why are healthcarers not being provided with the adequate PPE?”

Another doctor, in Norfolk, said: “We feel like it’s inevitable we’re going to get sick.”

The World Health Organisation has warned that the shortage of PPE is threatening “our collective ability to save lives”.

The Department of Health has issued millions of pieces of PPE and set up a helpline. Business Secretary Alok Sharma relaxed rules so companies can fast-track their manufacture.