lack of PPE - what is it?

[istherelifeafter40]

I am puzzled by the continuing lack of PPE in hospitals. Guardian reports that while London hospitals are experiencing a tsunami of sick people, more and more doctors and nurses are off sick, and there is no PPE (of WHO standard).

Did the government just lie when they said PPE "is being delivered"? Did they mean surgical masks? With all my cynicism and anti-tory sentiment even I struggle to comprehend how this has been allowed to happen. And all these companies claiming they offered millions of masks and were never contacted by the gov (Guardian coverage as well). I just don't understand, can't understand this.

You can only order a small amount at one time

The supply chain is slow and clogged up

I have tried all day to buy scrubs and struggled. I can only buy 300 masks at a time and they are taking a long time to reach us
We are taking donations from local businesses and the public to keep us going

Also there is a lack of FFP3 so we have to take what we can get ie paper masks

The reason why dentistry has stopped completely is we would all need FFP3 masks not paper masks and there aren’t any.
Guess this is the same in hospitals.

But I mean why did the government not sorted out PPE months ago? Even Russia requisitioned all FFP3 masks in January, so that the public can't buy any, but the medics have them!

I believe they do have some, but they are just delivering it really slowly

My OH is a paramedic and from what I hear there simply isn't enough of the correct equipment. The demand is so high. Say a double crewed ambulance (a "normal" ambulance) attends 8 suspected CV patients in a shift, they need full PPE each crewmate, plus a mask for the patient. That is 16 suits and 24 masks. Times that by number of ambulances on the road at any one time, across the whole of the country. London have also had to lower their standards of what is acceptable PPE, simply because the "better" suits and masks just aren't available quickly enough.
And that's just ambulances... without thinking about the rest of the NHS.
It's also fuelled by people calling ambulances unnecessarily. London is getting up to 8,000 jobs per day at the moment. Busier than any other time ever, even their busiest New Years Eve for example.

I work in the NHS and we are told to wear a surgical mask, apron and gloves for those who are confirmed or suspected. Only get eye protection if doing swabs etc. Staff refused a mask and eye protection to feed a patient the other day and we are only allowed FPP3 mask if doing aerosol Procedures where coughing is likely such as incubating a patient. It’s very scary

This was posted on the live thread on the Guardian website at 10.41
www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/27/uk-coronavirus-live-rough-sleepers-nhs-applause-covid-19-latest-news

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/masks4nhsheroes

We are a group of colleagues (doctors in hospitals and GP), who have set up this initiative to source PPE for those who need it most in our fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19). Our names are Dr Mona Barzin (GP), Dr Salaj Masand (Medicine, Ashford Hospital, Kent), Mr Ravi Visagan (Neurosurgery, King's College Hospital, London) & Mr Nav Kumar.

Just got told to take a basic surgical mask off on an ED shift. By an infection control nurse.

We are being treated appallingly.