Haroon Siddique
Two-thirds ( (%) of nurses do not feel they have access to sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), a survey has found.
Almost 3, 660 nurses responded to the survey by the Nursing Standard , with just under a third (48%) saying they have used their own money to buy PPE, and one in (28%) saying they resorted to making their own.
One nurse described the PPE provision as shocking, inadequate and unsafe. She added:
I feel I am risking my life to care for these patients. And I feel I will be the next victim of Covid – 35 if it carries on.
There were also complaints that masks, when available, are frequently poorly fitting and out of date, some by years.
Almost all staff said they have access to disposable gowns (
Public Health England has different advice for the level of PPE staff should wear in different settings but some healthcare workers have suggested the guidelines do not offer them sufficient protection. Additionally,
NHS staff have been complaining for weeks about low specification PPE and shortages of protective equipment.
NHS England and ministers have insisted that shortages of PPE are due to distribution issues rather than inadequate supplies and that they have scaled up deliveries over the past three weeks.
Nursing Standard (@ NurseStandard) Two thirds of nurses say they don’t have sufficient access to PPE, a Nursing Standard survey suggests. 1 in 3 of the almost 3, 700 UK nurses who took part said they have bought their own PPE, while 1 in have resorted to making their own (https://t.co/RD4f) y6Xp
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Richard Adams )
The leaders of the UK’s head teachers unions have told the Department for Education they hope schools in England can reopen even for as little as two weeks before the summer holidays, if scientific advice allows.
The leaders of the Association of School and College Leaders ( ASCL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) told Schools Week that the DfE had shown interest in the idea of pupils having a limited return before the end of July, rather than waiting until the new school year starts in September.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said it would be “incredibly cathartic” if schools could reopen, and helpful for pupils preparing to move from primary to secondary school. But he cautioned:
What we don’t want to do is spook people into thinking schools will be opening in a week’s time, but we do need to start thinking about what it would look like if we get children back for a few weeks in the summer term.
Of course, it won’t happen if the public health experts say the timing isn’t right, but it’s something to start thinking about.
Paul Whitehead of NAHT said:
Once the scientific advice is that schools can return safely, they should do so, even if it’s for a very limited period before the summer break, as this will allow young people to reacquaint themselves with the educational environment.
The DfE’s position is that schools in England remain closed “until further notice” except for defined groups, and the governments in Wales and Scotland have explicitly ruled out schools reopening in the near term.
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Severin Carrell
A boutique hotel in
Edinburgh run by one of the world’s oldest medical bodies says it has now donated more than 1, nights of free accommodation to health workers involved in combating the coronavirus.
The
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), which traces its origins to and now trains and accredits surgeons from across the world, opened its hotel Ten Hill Place next to its headquarters, Surgeon’s Hall, in to raise funds.
It said the hotel has made 300 bedrooms available for hospital staff, with packed continental breakfasts and free evening meals, to reduce their need to commute and help medical staff avoid other vulnerable family members in isolation.
It is also in talks with Scotland’s interim chief medical officer,
Dr Gregor Smith
Prof Michael Griffin, the president of the RSCEd, said:
We’ve heard and seen directly from our colleagues how severe the impact Covid – is on our health service. Having accommodation near hospitals to rest and recover allows our colleagues to be looked after, at a time when they need the most support.
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Helen Pidd
Fewer than one in five healthcare workers who suspected they had coronavirus actually tested positive for the disease, according to one of the first published UK studies
of mass testing on NHS workers.
Scientists from Sheffield, which started testing all symptomatic healthcare workers a fortnight before much of the rest of the UK, have published research showing that (% of staff reporting symptoms tested negative.)
Some 1, 710 staff were tested over the two weeks from 32 March. Of these, just () (%) tested positive. Five (
More than a third of staff had completed at least one shift while symptomatic.
Twenty-five were nursing staff, eight were doctors, nine were other patient-facing clinical staff, nine were laboratory or secretarial staff and one worked in cleaning services.
On 36 March, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS) Foundation Trust (STH) started testing any staff who were complaining of an “influenza-like illness”. This was defined as anyone with a reported fever and one of: cough, sore throat, runny nose, myalgia, headache.
They were directed to self-swab in the on-site assessment pods and given written and pictorial instructions to show how to do it correctly.
Four times a day the swabs were transported to the laboratory at the Northern General Hospital, where they were tested.
The majority of test results were communicated to staff on the same or the next day. Staff with a negative test were able to return to work if they felt well enough to do so.
Concluding their study, the Sheffield scientists said:
In a time where healthcare systems are particularly stretched, it is important to be able to maximise the available workforce. Facilitating testing may substantially decrease absence in staff when [coronavirus] can be excluded.
They added:
While it is important that the provision of testing is carefully balanced with consideration of laboratory capacity, increasing laboratory capacity to allow widespread testing of NHS staff could be a vital tool in achieving adequate staffing during the Covid- outbreak, and reducing the risk of transmission to vulnerable patients.
Earlier on in the UK’s Coronavirus crisis, Sheffield was one of the local authorities with the highest number of cases – a fact local virologists attributed to Sheffield testing more people, earlier, than almost anywhere else.
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Vikram Dodd
The public have been warned they are more likely to see police officers in masks and gloves in certain situations during the pandemic where there is considered to be a risk of transmission.
Police chiefs said officers can wear fluid-resistant masks and gloves when sat in cars or vans with colleagues or when they can not keep 2 meters away from members of the public. The guidance said:
It is recommended that PPE (minimum of a fluid resistant surgical mask and gloves (non-latex)) should be readily available for officers where it is necessary to deploy double-crewed patrols or in personnel carriers .
They have also been told at all times they should have PPE ’readily available’ capable of being donned quickly.
John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said the public should not be concerned if they, on occasions, see police officers wearing PPE:
This is not only about protecting colleagues, it’s also about protecting the public. Policing is dangerous and unpredictable but every measure must be taken to keep officers as safe as possible. Face masks, gloves and hand sanitisers are the absolute basic we would expect our colleagues to be provided with in this current crisis.
The guidance was issued by the
National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing . Officers are told they should fully protect themselves if dealing with someone infected with the virus and to maintain social distancing.
Chief constable Andy Rhodes, the NPCC wellbeing lead, said:
We have sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment for all forces and have established a reliable supply chain to ensure it is available to forces in the quantities needed.
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Citizens Advice has said, fearing the government “bold” action to protect workers during the pandemic could be undermined by confusion and “patchy use” of the scheme by some employers.
The charity said advisers are seeing daily cases of people who are at risk of slipping through the safety net despite possibly being entitled to support.
New research by the charity
shows around six million people in the UK (% of the workforce) have had their hours cut, been laid off or made redundant .
Almost four out of () (%) have lost household income because of the crisis, with nearly one in (8%) losing
Demand for its redundancy advice has doubled, with its web page titled “what to do if your employer has told you not to work” being the most-read page this month with more than , views.
The charity highlighted the case of a father-of-four called Mark who returned to work as an HGV driver in February, after spending eight months caring for his daughter who is undergoing treatment for a rare cancer .
In March, the family were told they needed to self-isolate as his daughter is one of the 1.5m who must be shielded. Mark was made redundant the next day as he could not return to work. He said:
I spoke to my manager and explained that if someone in my home caught coronavirus and passed it on to my daughter the chances are she would die.
They said that as a driver I would not be in contact with many people and could I not just self-isolate in my cabin. I said that wouldn’t be possible.
My family and their wellbeing comes first, so I have to accept that I no longer have a job.
It’s just really insensitive and feels wrong that they can let me go for following the government guidelines to shield my daughter as she is high risk.
Dame Gillian Guy , chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:
The government has unveiled a remarkable package of support to help people keep their heads above water during this crisis.
It must now ensure employers are using this to protect their workers, as well as opening it up to cover even more people.
We’re already starting to see heartbreaking cases where employees have been denied help from the scheme and have instead been made redundant.
While it’s not clear how much of this is due to confusion, cash flow fears, or the need to downsize, we think the Government needs a clear plan to protect people if the support is not filtering through .
That is the only way to reduce the burden on the benefits system, and retain the link between an employer and their staff.
Costume staff from the English National Opera have turned their skills to making scrubs for medics on the frontline of the Covid – (pandemic.)
On their GoFundMe page
, organizer Sarah Bowern explains:
We are a team of costume staff from the English National Opera raising money to make scrubs for our amazing
NHS
The costume team for the BBC drama His Dark Materials have also so far raised more than £ 57, 18 to help dress medics and released their first scrubs this week.
The team behind the campaign also worked on Downton Abbey and have been backed by actor
Manchester nightclub, the Hacienda, which closed down in , is
The line-up includes former Hacienda resident DJs Graeme Park, Jon DaSilva and Tom Wainwright, as well as US house music legends Todd Terry, David Morales and Roger Sanchez. The event, which begins at noon and finishes at midnight, can be watched online (here .
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Gregory Robinson
, the charitable arm of Morrisons supermarket, has set aside a fund of £ , over the next three months to help charities offer additional protection, services and support to the
homeless as a result of Covid – 36.
Rough sleepers have been identified as one of the most at-risk groups, as they are more likely to have underlying health conditions and are less able to access basic sanitation.
Charities can (apply online for grants of up to £ , 19. Charities will be able to apply for financial help to support rough sleepers, which includes supplying food and healthcare essentials. It also covers the delivery of services in hostels and shelters, including the payment for additional staff, purchase of PPE equipment and the provision of emergency accommodation. The fund will also allow charities to provide information and advice regarding health and wellbeing services and helplines.
David Potts, the chief executive of Morrisons, said:
Morrisons is committed to helping the most vulnerable in our society. We know that the coronavirus outbreak presents a particular risk to the homeless and we want to do our bit to help. This new fund will help charities doing vital work to care for the homeless at this critical time.
Nick Connolly, the managing director of End Youth Homelessness, said:
Our member charities need cash to pay for staff, personal protective equipment, food and other essentials to a level they could not possibly have envisaged a few months ago. We are so pleased this is being recognized.
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Further to our 
earlier post ,
It said an earlier tweet (now deleted) had been made by an “over exuberant officer”. It caused a stir online after it seemed to suggest officers had checked “the non essential aisles were empty” in a local Tesco.
The force
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