The head of an NHS trust in southern England has asked for the help of a top British fashion company as he fears his staff will soon run out of hospital gowns, it has been reported.
The director contacted the BBC to ask for the factory phone number of Burberry, which has turned over its production to make PPE for healthcare workers.
The man who made the desperate phone call to the broadcaster – who wished to remain anonymous – said he was worried that his trust had “less than 24 hours supply and [with the] weekend coming up”.
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He also condemned health secretary Matt Hancock’s denial of a PPE shortage. “The official line that we don’t have a shortage of PPE is fantasy,” he said.
Burberry is among a list of labels including Barbour, Louis Vuitton and Philip Treacy to have pledged to manufacture equipment crucial to fighting Covid-19.
The BBC’s business reporter Simon Browning, who took the unusual call, said manufacturers had told him they have been receiving several “upsetting” phone calls from NHS staff about to run out of equipment.
Earlier this week, a leaked Public Health England document revealed some items could be reused by NHS staff under “last resort” plans to cope with shortages.
The document states that protective masks and gowns could need to be washed and used again when stocks run low.
The unnamed NHS trust director said: “Trusts are already decontaminating PPE for reuse. I have several examples.”
It comes as Mr Hancock faces questions on PPE and government strategy at a virtual session of the Commons’ health committee on Friday, a day after lockdown measures were extended for at least another three weeks.
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On Sunday the health secretary said it was “impossible” to commit to a date for all frontline staff to have the protective equipment they need, and declined to apologise to nurses forced to choose between treating patients or protecting themselves.
Insisting “record” amounts of kit were in the system, he said some 121,000 gowns have been delivered around the country, adding that the average time to source PPE had fallen from six days to two and half days.
More than seven in 10 healthcare workers – 72 per cent – do not think the government has done enough to protect them from the coronavirus, according to a YouGov poll for the IPPR think tank published on Thursday.
The survey of NHS staff – including nurses, midwives, doctors, allied health professionals and managers – also found a third believe their health has suffered since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Announcing the lockdown would be extended, Dominic Raab said the government needed to be satisfied of five things before it could be eased – including making sure the supply of PPE is “able to meet future demand”.
