The health secretary today pledged to keep NHS staff safe after first-line medics revealed they were forced to share the face masks.
Nurses who work 36-hour shifts at Hillingdon Hospital – in the prime minister’s constituency – say they should wash, reuse, and share masks while caring for patients who tested positive for Covid-19.
Matt Hancock said protecting personnel was his “top priority,” confirming that the armed forces would be deployed to help manage and distribute hospital supplies.
But today on Good Morning Britain, the health secretary got involved in a furious debate when Piers Morgan accused him of misleading the public with the strategy of immunity against the herd.
Piers also hit people who visited parks and open spaces on weekends.
He warned doctors and nurses that they feel “cannon fodder” because of a lack of protective equipment and kits.
It also follows a letter in the Sunday Times from nearly 4,000 NHS workers calling on the Prime Minister to “protect the life of the rescuers” and resolve the “unacceptable” shortage of protective equipment.
In a video on Instagram last night about NHS employees and rescuers, Mr. Hancock said, “I want to say a big thank you on behalf of the nation and will do everything I can to keep you safe.
“This is my top priority, because you are keeping the country safe and I want to protect you.”
Doctors are working around the clock to save the lives of coronavirus patients, and the public has shown their appreciation, including in Manchester, in the photo
Matt Hancock took to Instagram to thank doctors and nurses for assuring them they were his ‘top priority’
In their letter to The Sunday Times, the 4,000-strong group said that many medical workers “risk their lives every day” by treating coronavirus patients without adequate protection, and called on Mr. Johnson to provide adequate masks, safety glasses , gloves, aprons and protective suits.
Mr Hancock told the BBC today that there are “challenges” with the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), but he took the matter “very seriously”.
NHS England said millions of other personal protective equipment has been delivered to hospitals, ambulance trusts and nursing homes in recent days.
NHS England said the military would “play its part” as of this week, offering personnel to “assist in managing and offloading supplies in busy NHS environments” and providing personal protective equipment to the frontline.
Mr. Hancock told the broadcaster: “I am determined to ensure that the right kit gets to the right hospital, the right ambulance service, the right doctor’s practice across the country.
“There have been challenges and I see that. We are working on it and try to solve all the problems. ‘
According to the NHS, pressure on the supply chain of PPE has increased as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak and the related production slowdown.
Emily Lawson, NHS chief commercial officer, said, “We need a vastly increased, urgent volume of these supplies in these exceptional circumstances.
“Working with our partners, we are now seeing much greater capacity and a more responsive supply chain to help us survive the coronavirus outbreak. We are very grateful for the support of the army in this. ‘
Dr. Rinesh Parmar appeared on the BBC’s Andrew Marr program yesterday, saying that NHS personnel dealing with the coronavirus outbreak are still not getting the protective equipment they need.
Dr. Rinesh Parmar, president of the doctors’ association, appealed directly to Boris Johnson, urging him to release more resources for hospital workers who fought to stop a flow of things and save lives.
“There have been doctors who have told us that they feel like lambs, that they feel like gun meat. GPs tell us they feel absolutely deserted, “he said.
“We all argue at Boris Johnson that they really look at arranging the essential personal protective equipment we all need on the NHS front line.
“What our doctors are telling us is that while the equipment arrives, some are inadequate, others do not meet World Health Organization guidelines.
“That really doesn’t give primary health care workers the confidence they need.”
It came when seven more people in Wales died after contracting the coronavirus, bringing the UK to a total of 240 amid mounting social repression of movement.
Speaking on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said, “NHS employees don’t all have full protective gear or protective gear at the moment, nursing staff have almost none at all, and caregivers, some of whom work in care homes, are clearly at risk, but even more at risk are the workers who go from house to house with their clients and who are clearly at risk of contracting or spreading the virus. ‘
Earlier, Jeremy Hunt, former health secretary and current chair of the Health Select Committee, told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the NHS has “ moved heaven and earth ” to bring protective equipment to every hospital.
Community secretary Robert Jenrick added: “This afternoon, every hospital in the country has the following supply of PPE.
‘We also delivered them to pharmacists and general practitioners. In the coming week, supplies will be delivered to all aid workers.
‘We now produce and import very large quantities. For example, we have received nearly three million face masks in recent days.
“PPE will be on the frontline as soon as possible.”
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