Nurses urge Johnson to act on protective equipment for staff
■ Doctors’ leader says they are ‘lambs to the slaughter’ ■ Hancock pledges determination on test supplies
PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has been urged to personally intervene to ensure nursing staff get vital protective equipment while treating Covid-19 patients after a doctors’ leader warned NHS workers felt they were being treated like “cannon fodder”.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has written to Mr Johnson saying there is a need to ensure adequate stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The letter also says that nurses must get coronavirus testing, so that staff with possible symptoms of Covid-19 know whether they are infected or not.
It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a huge amount of work had been done to get PPE to the frontline after medics reported there was not enough stock. He said he also wants to increase testing of NHS staff and hopes to make an announcement within the next few days.
In her letter to Mr Johnson, Dame Donna Kinnair, the RCN’s chief executive, said: “Our members have been unstinting in their dedication and professionalism
Dr Rinesh Parmar, chairman of the Doctors’ Association. to protecting the health and wellbeing of the United Kingdom – they must be supported by the Government and health sector in return.”
Earlier, Mr Hancock admitted there have been “challenges” with the supply of PPE to frontline NHS staff after a doctors’ leader said they felt they were being treated like “cannon fodder”.
Amid reports medics are seriously ill after becoming infected with Covid-19, including a nurse with no underlying health issues, Mr Hancock said the Armed Forces were being drafted in to help distribute PPE supplies.
He spoke after the chairman of the Doctors’ Association, Dr Rinesh Parmar, said: “We have had doctors tell us they feel like lambs to the slaughter, that they feel like cannon fodder. GPs tell us that they feel absolutely abandoned.
“We are all pleading with Boris Johnson that they really look into arranging the vital personal protection equipment that all of us need on the NHS frontline.
“What our doctors are telling us is that although equipment is arriving, some of it is inadequate, some of it doesn’t meet the World Health Organisation guidance.”
His comments came after a letter in The Sunday Times from almost 4,000 NHS workers called on the Prime Minister to “protect the lives of the life-savers” and resolve the “unacceptable” shortage of protective equipment.
NHS England said millions more items of PPE had been delivered over the last few days to hospitals, ambulance trusts and care homes among others.
It said the Army would “play its part” from this week, offering personnel to “help to manage supplies in busy NHS settings” and distributing PPE supplies.
Mr Hancock said: “I am determined to ensure that the right kit gets to the right hospital, the right ambulance service, the righ t doctors’ surgery, right across the country.
“There have been challenges and I can see that. We’re on it and trying to solve all the problems.”
We have had doctors tell us they feel like cannon fodder.