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

Thankfully Keir S is stepping up to the plate - not - he is concerned about when we can get the economy going again. I think if he had genuine info on withholding of masks by the Gov we would hear about it from him.

I am a nurse manager in social care. We have had 2 deliveries of PPE from the stockpile (its the FRSMs that have been hardest to source). Our normal supply chains for gloves and aprons have held, and I have managed to source goggles privately.

My main complaint is honestly the implication that these essential items are somehow being abused by staff and that is the problem rather than supply. I can assure you, whilst we are ok for PPE that is because-touch wood-we have not had a single suspected or confirmed case. Other homes have not been so lucky. It is offensive to suggest they have run out through misuse.

Ten years of austerity and no magic money trees.

It's far, far worse in the US. Nurses are being given one mask per week. Yes, one per week.

Even toy maker Lego have had to make masks for healthcare workers in Denmark - 100 Lego employees involved in the project;

popculture.com/trending/2020/04/11/lego-factory-latest-switch-medical-supplies-healthcare-workers-coronavirus-battle/

Guidelines at my trust as stated above, is FRM for all patients regardless of covid status, is that wasting resources? or, do you think the government realised health professionals were dying from contact with Covid patients.

This came into our trust the same day the 9th health professional had died. Positive patients and AGP even in covid negative required full PPE because patients who have tested negative can become positive.

We have two connected problems.

One, we have insufficient PPE, beds, ventilators, doctors, nurses, care assistants, cleaners, hospitals and everything and everybody else.

Two, we have a government desparate to avoid accepting any responsibility, trying to blame anyone else, and giving false advice in an attempt to justify inadequate provision.

If we had adequate supplies, they wouldn't be telling us things aren't needed.

I think we are all realistic that of course PPE is going to be a challenge-but just say that to people-don't try and push the blame onto the staff by suggesting it might be being misused-it isn't.

Also the government should be coming down hard on those profiteering from the situation. I priced up what would normally cost £300 worth of PPE on Amazon as part of contingency planning and it would cost over £900. All mainstream producers are not taking new customers.

Matt Hancock is an absolute idiot and shouldn’t be passing the buck

heyallyoucoolcatsandkittens I have yet to see any of my colleagues wandering around the corridors with FFP3 masks on.

Is this happening at your hospital?? If so then that should be challenged. When you say "we have enough ffp" are you referring to your hospital or ward that you work in?

At my hospital nurses were making their own PPE out of plastic bin bags. Re proving a negative I have read that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

I don't know if this is any help, but with this company and I'm sure others like it, people can donate (or buy) the visors.

www.aeppe.co.uk/

Do we know for sure the NHS staff who died, those exact individuals didn't have enough PPE?

I read & hear claims that 31 NHS staff have died from cv19. Does anyone know the credible source for that claim?

How much PPE should have been stockpiled? Enough for six months? A year? Two years?

And then it goes out of date.

The entire world is hunting for PPE. Every single country in the fucking world. The demand has probably increased 10, 20 or 50 fold in six weeks. Manufacturers are really struggling to keep up with this incredible, unpredicted demand. And you can't just buy it from Shady Sharon on Ebay, it has to be from a reputable maker who makes it with materials and processes which conform to standard.

The money is a tiny part of it. YABU.

Exactly Pineapple.

If you take the time to google "world-wide PPE shortage" you will see ample evidence that this is a widespread global problem, including the WHO:

www.who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide

My interpretation of Hancock's briefings are that he explains this global issue each and every time he is asked about it, and, he tells us about the British firms who are stepping in to start making PPE here so as to fill the void, and how the army have stepped in to shore up supply chains. I can't see what else they could be doing at this point in time.

I also think we'll never know if the healthcare workers who have died were actually exposed due to inadequate PPE or if, like me, they caught this extremely contagious virus somewhere out in the world.

What is the solution? Are companies just not keeping up with the demand to make it?

If you've worn full ppe I can assure you that it's not something you wear for the fun of it.

I agree it is a disgrace
But the U.K. is not the 6th richest country, it is the 20th
www.focus-economics.com/blog/richest-countries-in-the-world

I find it strange that Hancock made that statement. If it was a problem (which I don’t believe) I don’t see why the Health Secretary telling people not to overuse PPE would be thought helpful or even good PR. Shades of Trump accusing staff of stealing PPE. Do they think the public believe medical professionals are endangering their colleagues by misusing or hoarding equipment?

Hancock seems to me like one of the few actual humans in government, I find it really odd that he has taken this line.

Sense from @PineappleDanish

Perhaps a little more reflection about the efficacy if NHS procurement is required.

The RCN like any other union cherry picks to suit its own political agenda.

Whilst it's awful there is a lack of PPE it's a world wide problem because it's a global pandemic ,Dr,s and Nurses from all.over the world are dying

What is the solution? Are companies just not keeping up with the demand to make it?

In a nutshell, yes. Companies can't make it fast enough, to the right standards. Companies are also having to deal with staff being off sick, social distancing, and still have to go through all the usual import/export hoops and quality control processes.

Lots of manufacturers are switching production to make PPE or medical equipment but this can't be done overnight. If you don't have the right plant and machinery, you can't just magic it up.

Smaller scale projects are making a contribution - but a tiny one. Our school has staff going in on the holidays to make visors using the school's 3D printer. But they can only churn out 250 a day. And they are running out of whatever plastic they need for the printing.

I know a lot of people love a "let's kick the Tories" thread but come on. Nobody predicted this and every country has been hit at the same time.

The problem is you can't keep it stockpiled "just in case" - PPE goes out of date and the needs to be thrown away. If the pandemic never happened and they'd had millions of pounds worth stashed in a factory that needed to be binned, everyone would be up in arms about what a waste of money it was.

The entire world is struggling with a lack of PPE. It's not just the UK - healthy doctors, nurses and care workers are dying all over the world because COVID-19 is an infectious fucker and you can't protect yourself 100%.

I work in a care home and we have two positive cases (in hospital so they’re saying they’re not in the home so we don’t need to worry even though they have been in the home when they became unwell but the hospital wants to send them back) and about 6 with ‘pneumonia’ or chesty infections’ and one who died of ‘pneumonia’ yesterday. My colleague developed ‘pneumonia’ and she’s ended up having her baby 12 weeks early. Management don’t give a shit about her or her poor baby. All they’re bothered about is us picking up her shifts and trying to replace her. We aren’t allowed to wear masks as it will scare the other residents and we also don’t have enough to go around and most of our supplies have been diverted and sent to hospitals. According to management the residents don’t have CV and just have chest infections and pneumonia and they know this without a doctors opinion or a test. What ppe we have left they’ve hidden it from us and locked it away and only people who are going into the infected rooms can wear a mask. We practically have to beg for a mask. Just hold your breath was one solution given to us by management.

They’re lying to us and to residents families about all this. Your elderly relatives are not safe in our care home, not in the slightest. This care home I work for is a private, expensive, nationwide, established one that has hundreds of homes across the UK. Our sister homes are going through the same thing.

Some of the residents with ‘pneumonia’ have dementia and we can’t keep them in their rooms so they’re wandering around freely so the ‘pneumonia’ is going to spread to us all anyway.

We’re just sitting ducks waiting to be infected (we most likely already are) but who are we? Who gives a fuck about us? Absolutely no one. We’re underpaid, over worked and under appreciated. People are forgetting it’s not just the NHS staff who are dealing with this head on and handling poorly people without ppe. We’re just as at risk as them but no gives a shit about us or our residents. We’re here to take the strain off the NHS. We’re just collateral damage.

It’s disgraceful. My SIL is a GP working at a red (COVID) clinic and the only way she could get a visor was through FB linking her with someone with a 3D printer. A group has been set up locally to sew scrubs, scrub bags, face masks, headbands and ear savers for our local hospital. We already know that cloth face masks won’t do anything to protect the wearer from catching this virus but apparently it’s better than nothing.

While Hancock talks about ‘record amounts of PPE’, it’s clear that there isn’t enough.

Why cant ppe be washed,?