Almost half of doctors have had to buy their own PPE
ALMOST half of doctors have had to purchase their own personal protective equipment (PPE) or use supplies donated by charities or local firms, according to the biggest survey yet of front-line medical staff.
A British Medical Association survey of 16,343 members found that 48 per cent had bought PPE items themselves or received an “external donation ... due to non-availability of official NHS procurement supplies”, including more than one in three hospital doctors.
The doctors’ union said the figures called into question how the Government could be “anywhere near” meeting two of five tests that Boris Johnson said would have to be met before any easing of the lockdown measures. The tests were restated by Jenny Harries, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, at the Government’s daily press conference yesterday.
More than half of doctors (56 per cent) said they felt only partly protected from coronavirus infection at work, while almost one in ten (9 per cent) said they did not feel protected at all. Some 31 per cent said they felt fully protected.
The Government has come under sustained pressure over the national supply of PPE to medics and care workers, with trusts reporting that they were having to operate “hand to mouth” as they waited for deliveries of some items via the national supply chain.
More than 100 NHS staff and other healthcare workers have died with coronavirus in the UK.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the
BMA council, said one in three doctors reported having insufficient gowns.
Medics have reported buying items such as face masks and eye protection online and at hardware shops, amid a short supply of specific devices. GP surgeries and hospitals have been given protective goggles by schools.
Dr Nagpaul said: “The Government has five tests it has said must be met to ease lockdown the first of which is ‘making sure the NHS can cope’. “Another key test is confidence that supplies of PPE are able to meet demand.
“Six weeks into this crisis, how can the Government be confident that these conditions are anywhere near to being met, or that the pandemic is under control, when the very people on the front line are not being made safe?”
More than one in three (38 per cent) of hospital doctors said they had either purchased items of PPE themselves or received supplies as an external donation, compared to 85 per cent of GPs. Overall, 52 per cent said they had had to buy items or rely on donations.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are working around the clock to ensure PPE is delivered as quickly as possible … and have delivered over 1billion items since the outbreak began. There is a worldwide demand for PPE, and Lord Deighton is leading a national effort to increase domestic production, scale up existing manufacturing and tap into new resources. In addition, the Government has a significant international strategy to ensure we can continue to tap into the international supply chain.”