Coronavirus: “Medical Care Staff Forced To Share Masks, Hold Their Breath When Treating Patients Due To Protective Equipment Shortage” – UK Doctor Says
A leading doctor has said UK doctors and nurses are being forced to share masks or hold their breath while treating coronavirus patients due to a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), Independent reports.
Dr Rinesh Parmar, of the Doctors’ Association said despite government promises to equip all National Health Service (NHS) staff in the UK with the necessary PPE, health workers were continuing to be left exposed within hospitals.
He said that a survey conducted by his organisation has found that almost half of doctors say they have no eye protection at all.
Dr. Parmar stated that in some hospitals, staffs were having to reuse eye masks, adding nurses doing high-risk procedures are “having to hold their breath”.
He said;
Given the severe lack of PPE getting through, we are all very concerned about potentially losing more colleagues.
Dr Parmar stressed it was “sad to hear” of those who had already been lost “in the line of duty”, adding “none of us wants to hear further stories of frontline staff losing their lives.”
He revealed that to combat PPE shortages, doctors are also being forced to accept donations from local schools’ science labs.
According to Independent, Dr Parmar also raised concerns about the country’s testing capacity, saying:
We have heard in the last few weeks that testing is going to be ramped up. It would be welcome to see that in practice.
He claimed that there have been reports of doctors going to testing centres, only to be turned away.
On her part, Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, which represents NHS Trusts, told Sky News that, over time, increasing testing “may be doable”.
She said that testing is important because “the more staff we test, the more staff we can get back to work”.
When asked by Sky News if there are concerns that some regions of the country are better prepared for the pandemic than others, Ms Cordery said that the stock of ventilators is being managed nationally.
She added that;
I think that the nature of this pandemic is that it is spreading from region to region. London is probably best prepared because London has seen the surge in demand hitting first. It is important that every part of the country is supported.
