LEFT EXPOSED NHS hospitals will not have enough protective gowns to treat coronavirus patients ‘until JUNE’

 

NHS staff will have to treat coronavirus patients without full-length gowns as hospitals are set to run out within hours and will not have "sustainable" levels again until June.

Public Health England is set to tell frontline staff to wear a flimsy plastic apron when gowns have run out - which could lead to more hero healthcare workers contracting the virus.

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Nurses will no longer be able to always wear full length gowns (pictured)

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Healthcare workers may have to wear the incorrect equipment (pictured) and not have access to full length gowns

The guidance will be a U-turn on existing advice which told NHS staff that full-length waterproof surgical gowns should be worn for all high-risk hospital procedures, The Guardian revealed.

Doctors and nurses were also instructed to reuse gear that is normally single-use only or even wear white lab coats and wash them afterwards.

At least 56 NHS and healthcare workers have so far died from coronavirus, with many families blaming lack of personal protective equipment.

Prof Keith Willett, who has been leading NHS England's response to the coronavirus crisis, has helped formulate the guidance, which will be sent to all 217 trusts in England later.

Hospitals that still have full-length gowns will have to lend them to others, while anyone without will have to make do with aprons instead.

A source with knowledge of the plan told the Guardian: "The new guidance will say 'this is what you do if you don't have any gowns'. Wear an apron instead – that will be the new policy for the foreseeable future, though the medical organisations will go mad about that."

In a leaked email, seen by the Independent, a military liaison officer wrote to hospitals and other NHS trusts saying: "I can confirm that regions were informed that there will be no deliveries of gowns until 27 Apr and a sustainable level will not be reached until after mid-June."

He added: "My assessment is that most trusts will be out of stock after the weekend on current consumption."

It comes as the head of an NHS Trust in Southern England revealed how he had asked for help from a British fashion company, fearing his staff will soon run out of hospital gowns.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, asked the BBC for a phone number for Burberry, which has recently retooled its trench coat factory in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to begin PPE production.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said the amount of key workers still without protective equipment was a "scandal".

"Workers have been sounding the alarm for weeks now and the Government has had months to put things in place," he said.

"It is outrageous that supplies keep running so low, protecting those staff who are risking their lives every time they go to work should be an absolute priority.

"Ministers need to make good on their promises, sort out the supply issues and work to make sure no staff member feels unsafe because of a lack of PPE. It is no good making grand promises if they later turn out to be undeliverable."