According to Matt Hancock there are sufficient supplies of PPE equipment around. But the evidence from NHS staff contradicts that.
A third of UK surgeons and surgical trainees do not believe they have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in their trust, with wide regional variations, a survey has found.
More than half of those who responded (57%) to the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) of England survey said there have been shortages in the past 30 days.
The survey of nearly 2,000 surgeons and trainees showed a postcode lottery when it comes to PPE. More than half (52%) of respondents in the Thames Valley said they now have access to adequate PPE, but that dropped to just over a third (34.7%) in the North West.
In London, which has been at the heart of the outbreak in the UK, a third (33.4%) of respondents said they do not believe their trust has an adequate supply of PPE.
^ survey was carried out after improved PPE guidance was issued by NHS England at the beginning of April ^
Sue Hill, RCS vice president, said:
The guidance is now much improved, but we have consistently said that advice about what protection to use for which medical procedures is rendered meaningless if the kit doesn’t reach the front line.
More than half of those responding to the survey also expressed scepticism about their chances of getting a Covid-19 test for themselves, should they need one.
Confidence was particularly low in the East of England, where 75% of surgeons said they believed they would not get access to a test.
One surgeon, who responded to the survey said:
The lack of mask wearing in general patient contact has been scandalous.
I caught Covid-19 from a patient on the ward who was pre-symptomatic but later tested positive. He infected at least six staff. One of my colleagues remains very sick from this.
I was denied a test even on appeal. We were ‘spoken to’ for wearing simple masks and gloves in general ward areas. We agreed to submit to authority but strongly disagreed that there was no risk.
The RCS is urging its members not to risk their health, and that of their patients, by carrying out risky procedures without adequate PPE
lemon did you bother to read the survey? It is a postcode lottery. You must be very grateful your DIL has proper protection but why would you doubt that others don't have that?
It's irrelevant to our discussion about Operation Cygnet. The rest of the world weren't involved. The facts are that our government knew what problems would arise and what needed to be done and chose to do nothing. Now they're trying to pass the buck onto NHS and care staff.
Oopsminty ??Hear hear ..... very well said.
We were unprepared for longer than many other countries in the world who whilst initially unprepared got their act together pdq and with far greater efficiency than we are showing even at this late stage.
So Oopsminty you don't want to hear what NHS staff say? Personally I am more interested listening to them than the PR operation by the government trying to convince us that everything is fine. Because it isn't.
What’s “sickening” are the qualified, half hearted apologies and ignorant comments about NHS staff using PPE incorrectly from 2 senior members of the Govt. I wouldn’t care which party was in power - anyone who came out with such utter rubbish would not have me jumping to their defence.
Incidently I am a very private person and never post about what my family do but I do know what is happening in the NHS.
Jonathan Lis
Tories rule by gaslighting. They blame NHS staff for experiencing government shortages, the opposition and media for quoting their own statements, and the general public for not understanding their wildly conflicting advice. They want us to believe this isn’t their fault. It is.
I don't really care where the UK is/was in the world preparedness ranking. The fact is that stockpiles have been depleted over the last few years. We don't have enough PPE and certain government officials are lying through their teeth.
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/12/revealed-value-of-uk-pandemic-stockpile-fell-by-40-in-six-years
I believe both ; there is a shortage, and the government is remedying it.
And no -one could have predicted the actual requirements, apart from the few on here who can foresee the future,
60% of PPE is manufactured in China, gloves are manufactured mainly in Malaysia.
The waiting time from order to delivery at the moment is anything up to 6 months. (I know this as our business supplies protective clothing)
There are not so many passenger planes flying, so less capacity for cargo, this should not be a problem for governments as they can surely charter a cargo plane?
Each NHS Trust has a highly paid Procurement Officer, these seem to have been effecient in some trusts but not in others.
Stockpiling PPE would not be possible for all items as some have a shelf life .
notanan2 good posts.
The BBC News this morning repeatedly asked two nurses from the North East of England if they had enough PPE, each time they replied yes...........the presenter asked them the same question in a different way........they replied yes we have sufficient PPE, it was obvious that the presenter was looking for no we havent
And this what we already suspect.
A former public health director has accused the government of "coming very close to lies" over the UK's coronavirus death figures.
Professor John Ashton, former regional director of Public Health England, said the number of people dying with COVID-19 could be double what the public is being told.
No-one on here could have predicted how much PPE was needed - but neither would we have stood in front on millions and said what Patel and Hancock did. Well - a couple of you might have.
It wasn't a case of foreseeing the future. It was a well planned pandemic exercise. The evidence was there but the government chose now to act on it.
A few 'amendments' to the regulations on the 10/04 can only be viewed as an attempt to make things look a bit better. (If you can't fulfil your promises, just change them.) No long sleeved gowns? No problem, it's fine to use disposable plastic ones instead.
The hospital nearest to where I live has appealed to schools, hairdressers, beauty salons, etc etc for gloves, goggles, aprons and masks. Local care workers are sourcing their own. As it happens, my Chinese student's parents gave me a box of masks a few weeks ago, most of which I've donated to my local GP. I don't go out, so I don't need them.
The staff of course! How do you know a politician is lying? watch their lips move..... Without sounding hysterical.the great 'information machine' filters everything before it reaches the public.
If the Government had stockpiled PPE, which had to be destroyed because it was past its sell by date, there would have been shouts of wasting tax payers money .
You expect all to be perfect? Really?! Just think about the thousands of extra health care ‘outlets’ as well as hospitals that need PPE.
It wasn’t perfect in any country .....but of course the usual posters who constantly like to imagine that the UK isn’t half as good as other countries ( yet they still seem to enjoy living here?) are out in force on social media, all, apparently, experts on the NHS and logistics.
Same here grow. My next door neighbour is now making face shields for frontline staff - he can’t keep up with the demand.
eazybee No need to be so sarky. The government could have and did foresee the needs of a pandemic. It chose not to deplete the resources available.
Only the stupid would have complained about wasting public money. The rational would have been glad that it hadn't been needed.
lemongrove I hope you have your tin hat on?
lemon no-one is expecting it to be perfect (although the Govt could have done a hell of a lot more). What we are expecting is for senior cabinet ministers to be able to exercise more control over what comes out of their mouths and to show bit of humility and respect for the many workers across the health and care sectors who have far, far more experience, expertise and knowledge or working on the frontline than that pair do.
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join the discussion, watch threads and lots more.
Register now »Already registered? Log in with:
Gransnet »Get our top conversations, latest advice, fantastic competitions, and more, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
