Ppe Kit Quotes

Yet an investigation by the BBC programme Panorama discovered the move was at least partly a way to get around the shortage of protective equipment in the NHS. The problem was that the Health and Safety Executive had earlier ruled that the very top level of PPE should be worn when dealing with a disease ranked as an HCID. The change in classification therefore meant health workers could be kitted out with less protective equipment – making the most of the threadbare stocks available. The government had requested that the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens remove Covid-19 from the HCID list.

In fact, Britain was, in effect, buying back the PPE it had given China for free in February. It would also take another six to eight weeks before Britain was able to purchase these supplies from China and, by then, the NHS was already running out of protective kit, with some medical staff having to resort to buying their own makeshift kit from DIY stores.