Lied to about PPE delivery from Turkey.

Thank you Trisher. I WISH they would just be upfront.

We've got PPE stock on order in Turkey. We know it's needed now.

What on earth is everyone going to whinge about once the supply chain of PPE worldwide catches up with its usage? Because it IS a worldwide problem. I'm reminded of the school playground at Infant school when I hear the cry "They lied!" I'd have thought we are all grown up enough on here to realise that sometimes, despite our best intentions, things don't always proceed as planned.
And to the poster who mentioned Jenny Harries snap at the journalist at Sunday's briefing, it was an absolute classic. Well worth watching on catch up......

GrannyLaine So you don't have a problem if you have to go into hospital and nobody will treat you because they don't have PPE? Really?

Has that ever actually happened in the UK?

I'm sure those that love to moan and find fault with the Government will find something else to complain about GrannyLaine.

I quite agree that we must always stick to the facts.

I just wish ministers would.

Jenrick - you know him? Claimed £100000 for a property that was not his main residence. Bit short on facts there!
Claimed on Saturday that an order from Turkey would be arriving on Sunday. Short on facts there as well!

In fact the RAF planes have still not left the U.K.

One has left the UK. It's sitting on the tarmac in Istanbul, still waiting. Two are still at Brize Norton.

I wonder who will claim victory if/ when the stuff arrives?

Well we were told categorically it was expected on Sunday as far as I’m aware.
It was obviously ordered - but that’s not quite the same.

If I order something say, on a Friday and it involves packing or paperwork I wouldn’t expect that to be done till the following Monday. I don’t think that’s odd.

The fact that the request to expedite went in on Sunday, still doesn’t mean it was expected on Sunday. If you have to expedite something then it clearly means you don’t have it in transit yet.
I think the government are being economical with the truth.

Just saying.

Are you referring to people not being treated Jane10? No, as far as I know it hasn't, but the shortage of PPE in hospitals is genuine. Obviously I can't quantify it, but I have been told by two consultants in different healthcare regions that there have been discussions about using equipment outside normal safety guidelines. This isn't just some scare story, which somebody has made up for "political reasons".

I do not believe for one moment that the public is being told the truth. Manufacturing PPE (unlike ventilators) isn't rocket science. The government has known for weeks what the country is facing and manufacturing capacity should have been put on to something like a war footing ages ago. We currently have factories lying idle. This really does wreak of incompetence.

I really object to being treated like a child with promises which ministers know can't be kept. It shows absolutely no respect for the intelligence of the British public.

growstuff I'm not denying there's a problem. It's worldwide. But neither am I fainting in horror and catastrophising it because I know that our fantastic frontline staff will find a way through. So many individuals and companies are pulling together to rectify this. To my knowledge, no patient with Covid 19 has been denied treatment in this country because the appropriate PPE wasn't available, and I worked as a nurse for long enough to know just how creative the NHS can be when the going gets tough

Surely its not just the PPE that hasn't arrived thats the problem its the PPE that is being sent overseas daily FROM the Uk...IF the chief clown and his circus had got their act together maybe ..just maybe there wouldn't be a shortage
.The fact is these companies have said they offered the PPE and the government turned them down.Now that wouldn't have anything to do with Bojo's herd immunity proposal ,would it?
Of course the government in all its wisdom...hahaha ..decided to wait for "sir" James Dyson's ventilators too I'm sure thats not because hes a Tory donor ? They wouldn't play with peoples lives for donations would they ?Does anyone know if more than the 30 thats THIRTY ever arrived when thousands were promised form the company who hadn,'t actually made ventilators before .

WWM2 Claim victory?? I imagine it will be speedily dispatched and everyone will get on with their work.

The problem with the government being economical with the truth, it is resulting in the population beginning as Kuenssberg has identified being distrustful and “scratchy” .

The government needs the trust of the population in order for compliance and willingness to go along with lockdown etc.

Listen to other world leaders like NZ and Germany and compare to the U.K. Most unfortunate.

GrannyLaine - you say I know that our fantastic frontline staff will find a way through - and yes, you are right, they will.
I have no axe to grind here but the point is, they are stressed enough and shouldn’t have to.

Anyone who has worked in a situation where you feel extremely vulnerable will know how uniquely stressful that is. It’s unfair and disrespectful to expect it of our medical teams and is certainly impossible to do long term.

I don’t care where it comes from. I just want our NHS and other key workers to have exactly what they feel safest in that is job appropriate. This way we will have an altogether more resilient team. I don’t want them to start each day exhausted and afraid.

Absolutely accept that point NotSpaghetti and couldn't agree more. But these are unprecedented times, and we are where we are. Ramping up the agony doesn't, unfortunately, make PPE appear out of nowhere. Clear strategic thinking is what is required until the supplies re-establish.

I don’t think that criticism of the governments incompetence is ramping up the agony. In fact I would be much more alarmed if no criticism was forthcoming. We don’t live in a dictatorship

I agree that clear strategic thinking is essential. Point me in the direction please as I see precious little at the moment.

What we know to be fact

Laura Kuenssberg
Just spoken to Keir Starmer on PPE problems - 'what we’re seeing here is an increasing gap between what the government says or thinks is happening and what the frontline are telling us'

I do wish though GrannyLaine that we could believe what we hear. If I were currently working in an area where I was vulnerable I would be constantly on edge. The promises and statements do make you feel worse than knowing what is true.

These half-truths can make you feel very uneasy when you are waiting and waiting. It seems to me that the staff must be in a state of heightened anxiety every time a deadline comes and passes. I do really feel for them. They are ordinary people, doing their best and at the very least should have the right “gear” in which to do it.

More evidence of being economical with the truth, and something else we suspected.

Asked why the UK did not take part in an EU ventilator scheme, the Foreign office permanent secretary said "It was a political decision. The UK mission (UKREP) briefed ministers about what was abailable and what was on offer and the decision is known". So much for missed emails.

I really don't understand how anyone can say it is OK for a government to be incompetent and to lie because front line staff will find a way through and cope. The least they should expect is support from people who earn far more than they do but who seem unable to do the job they are paid to do.

And Keir Starmer has offered to help overcome the shortage of PPE by.......

I was naive to hope that people in the UK would put aside their political differences to pull together in a national emergency.

No need for aggression Eglantine

I cannot recall having read a more measured, factual, calm post in all the time I've been on GN. Aggressive it was not. Might not have been what you wanted to read but that doesn't make it aggressive.

eglatine so are you saying that Starmers comment is factually incorrect?