Nurses ‘will not work’ until they get protective equipment

NURSES are refusing to treat critically ill coronavirus patients due to a lack of proper protective equipment, frontline NHS workers claimed last night.

Staff at a major London hospital at the centre of the outbreak said elderly patients were dying needlessly because nurses were at severe risk of catching the virus themselves.

About 10 staff members at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow are being treated by their own colleagues after falling ill while treating patients, a senior nurse told The Telegraph.

Two weeks ago, the hospital became the first in the country to declare a critical incident after running out of intensive care beds due to a surge in coronavirus patients.

Medics across the country have complained that they are being put at major risk by a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, masks and aprons.

Yesterday, the head of the Royal College of Physicians revealed that about a quarter of NHS doctors are off work sick or in isolation. Three front-line doctors have so far died after being diagnosed with the virus.

“Our patients are dying not because of Covid-19 complications, but because they are not getting the level of care that they need to recover,” said the senior nurse at Northwick Park.

Confused elderly patients who need constant monitoring because their oxygen masks slip off were at the greatest risk, she added.

“We haven’t got the proper respirators and insufficient PPE is compromising our care,” she said. “We’ve had to buy our own stuff in DIY shops.

“Nurses are staying home and others are refusing to treat patients unless they are given the proper equipment.”

Last night, the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust denied that nurses had been staying at home for fear of catching the virus.

“There is no evidence of any kind that such behaviour has contributed to patient deaths,” a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing said it was unacceptable that staff are treating patients without PPE.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it has issued millions of pieces of equipment and set up a helpline so those in need can ask for more.