disgusted that nurses/carers/doctors are dying for lack of PPE in 6th richest country

[wemustnotforget]

When this is all over (or maybe now) we must hold Boris and team responsible for risking so many lives.

Our health secretary said this -
“We need everyone to treat PPE like the precious resource it is,” he said on Friday. “Everyone should use the equipment they clinically need, in line with the guidelines: no more and no less.”

Nurses, porters, doctors are sacrificing their own safety and Matt Hockock has nerves to say they must not OVERUSE PPE, they dont have PPEs. Why was he chosen for this job when his background is in economics?

From wikipedia -
He studied at Exeter College, Oxford, and graduated with a first in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and went on to Christ's College, Cambridge, to earn an MPhil degree in Economics.[5][6] Hancock became a member of the Conservative Party in 1999.[7]
After university, Hancock briefly worked for his family's computer software company, before moving to London to work as an economist at the Bank of England, specialising in the housing market.

A doctor who warned Boris a month ago about risks of medical staff working without PPEs has died of corona virus at the age of 53.

In his message to the prime minister, Dr Chowdhury wrote: "Please ensure urgently PPE for each and every NHS health worker in the UK.

"Remember we may be doctors/nurses/HCAs/allied health workers who are in direct contact with patients, but we are also human beings to practice human rights like others, to live in this world disease free with our family and children.

"Otherwise in future our children will lose interest to go to medical school.
news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-doctor-who-warned-prime-minister-about-ppe-dies-with-covid-19-11971068

And for those who are going to say I am making it political at the time of crisis, no I am not. I want this government to be accountable for their actions.

Why UK declined EU's offer of collective PPE purchase.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/no-10-boris-johnson-accused-of-putting-brexit-over-breathing-in-covid-19-ventilator-row

My local secondary schools have turned their DT depts into mini face visor production lines.The textile depts are sewing gowns and face masks and the PPE are delivered directly to the hospital. It's embarrassing that the 6th richest nation has to rely on handouts from the public to fund its NHS.

Secondary schools in Ireland are using 3D printers to make visors;

"When we saw that PPE wasn't forthcoming or was not sufficient, especially for local health centres like GPs and nursing homes, our construction teacher Eoin Kennedy came up with an idea."

www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/discover/tipperary-schools-come-together-to-manufacture-ppe-visors-for-healthcare-staff-992109.html

And so have staff at Aix-Marseille University in France;

www.univ-amu.fr/en/taxonomy/term/54

The costume department of an opera house in Berlin have been sewing textile masks;

kcrwberlin.com/2020/04/how-the-staatsoper-costume-department-shifted-from-sewing-garments-for-the-stage-to-making-masks-for-berliners-in-need/

It seems to be a european problem though - i‘ve heard similar from(nurse) friends in switzerland and germany. there just isn’t enough in the world

Local people and schools are printing masks but the nhs staff (paramedics) are no allowed to use them as they are not issued by the NHS - they have been given googles instead (school science lab types) and threatened with disciplinary if they use the masks.

I am in Switzerland. There is no shortage. The government has organized direct deliveries from Asia with repurposed grounded passenger planes. The opposition is complaining about the costs.

There are around 1200 companies offering to supply ppe to the UK.
The ordering/ purchase system is a complete shambles.

Long standing suppliers of the nhs are frustrated and upset that they cannot get through to anyone who can actually place an order.
It is dreadful.

Thank goodness this is being reported on the news at last. It has been going on since March.
Nobody is coordinating a response to manufacturers.
Now we find huge quantities of PPE is being shipped to Europe because the suppliers can't get a response from UK purchasers.
As for the Turkey fiasco, madness.

Now we find huge quantities of PPE is being shipped to Europe because the suppliers can't get a response from UK purchasers

So basically NHS admin have cocked up? Unsuprising. I used to be frontline NHS and management was atrocious. As was the desire to privatise everything. Lots of departments are run by private contractors now.

An ex- colleague told me the reason a lot of NHS staff aren’t being tested is because admin can’t get their act together to pull up a list of staff on their 14 day isolation and call them in to a testing centre.

Sometimes it isn't about money, it's about resource availability. If it isn't available then it doesn't really matter how much money you have to spend on it.

It is available.
Nobody is taking orders from the manufacturers.
You can't even get phone calls returned, or a named contact who can place an order.

not just secondary, my primary school is making 150 visors a day (funded by donations) for the hospital, care homes, police etc they seem to be using them - rules or not.

Now they are saying contact the cabinet office. No details or information about which department/team/administrator.
Nobody responds.

DD care agency she has worked for says unless a patient has a positive test for CV, then no facemask can be used... as they haven't got enough.
Cornwall County Council has received a 1/3rd of what it ordered from the govt, now having to pay through the nose to source its own supplies.
DD wants to go back and work in care again, now she has almost completed her Uni deadlines - i have said NO!

Then we read that UK suppliers have shipped in vast quantities of PPE from Asia but are now selling into europe because UK govt doesn't want it......
This isn't an NHS admin issue, it appears to be deliberate Govt policy.

I think the complete lack of any system or department at government level to actually place orders, or speak to the companies who make PPE, is deeply suspicious.
A colleague in the industry has been trying to send PPE since 30th March. Their company has been supplying gowns, masks, drapes,dressings etc to the NHS for over 30 years. None of the usual contacts appear to have authority to order PPE . Other phone numbers and email addresses either don't answer or are answered by a junior person who just refers their sales person elsewhere. My colleague has been going round and round in circles since March with this. Meanwhile, they have been sending PPE to NZ, Switzerland and South Korea with no problems.

This is a government failure
Problem is they are so good at manipulating the media they always wiggle out of it

It is worse than incompetent.

Considering there is a PPE manufactures and suppliers association - BSIF, seems beyond belief that early on, someone didn't sit down and ring around... not wait for the supplier to contact them!!!

I'm starting to think this is deliberate policy by Govt to get CV into the hospital and care systems, much like allowing Cheltenham to go ahead, despite 16m people being locked down in Italy the day before.

I think the complete lack of any system or department at government level to actually place orders, or speak to the companies who make PPE, is deeply suspicious

I don’t think it’s suspicious or a conspiracy.

It’s simply a reflection on the utterly appalling mismanagement of the NHS.

There’s never anyone who can make a decision, and those that can do it in business interest, not patient. It won’t be in the budget, and there won’t be anyone who has the authority to overspend the PPe budget by multiple.

They can’t even scrabble around for phone numbers to invite staff in for testing, ffs.