The health secretary has declined to apologise to nurses forced to choose between treating coronavirus patients or protecting themselves due to shortages of vital protective kit.
Matt Hancock came under pressure to make an apology to frontline staff who are putting themselves at risk by working without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).
Nursing leaders have issued guidance to staff that they should refuse to treat coronavirus patients as a “last resort” if appropriate PPE was not provided.
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Asked whether he would apologise to medics “who are being put in that impossible position”, Mr Hancock did not answer directly, instead saying: “We are working night and day to make sure that we get the right PPE.
“The thing I want to do is pay tribute to the unbelievable of a huge number of people to get to the position where we are in now, which is improving, but we won’t rest until we get there.”
Mr Hancock said it was “impossible” to commit to a date for all frontline staff to have the protective equipment they need, despite insisting “record” amounts of kit were in the system.
Asked if the government could commit to a date to deliver more PPE, Mr Hancock said: “It’s impossible because the quest is to get the right PPE to the right people on the front line at the right time across many millions of people across the NHS and social care.
“I’m glad to say that effort is moving in the right direction, we now have record amounts of PPE that’s been put out into the system but until everyone gets the PPE they need then we won’t rest.”
Mr Hancock said experts were currently trying to source more gowns with long sleeves which are needed to keep health staff safe from the virus.
Some 121,000 gowns have been delivered around the country, Mr Hancock said, adding that the average time to source PPE had fallen from six days to two and half days.
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The health secretary denied accusations that the government had been too slow to stockpile PPE when the need for protective kit was clear from early on in the outbreak.
He said: “We went into this with the stockpiles, and the challenges are logistical ones of having previously had an organisation that serves just over 200 NHS organisations and the demand for PPE and the need for it has gone up enormously and there’s now 58,000 organisations that this huge logistical operation services.
“So it has been a challenge of logistics as much as one of supply.”
Earlier, Alok Sharma, the business secretary, admitted there was “clearly a need for more protective equipment” but failed to apologise for problems getting it to the front line.
He told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I’m incredibly sorry that people feel they are not able to get this equipment.”


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A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street
Photos Angela Christofilou

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Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread
Angela Christofilou

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An empty street in the heart of Chinatown
Angela Christofilou

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People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown
Angela Christofilou

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A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown
Angela Christofilou

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Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance
Angela Christofilou

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A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus
Angela Christofilou

8/29
Making sure I stay two-meters apart – D’Arblay Street, Soho
Angela Christofilou

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A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice
Angela Christofilou

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A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden
Angela Christofilou

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As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street
Angela Christofilou

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A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area
Angela Christofilou

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Communities have been coming together in a time of need
Angela Christofilou

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A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day
Angela Christofilou

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A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced
Angela Christofilou

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During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown
Angela Christofilou

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Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time
Angela Christofilou

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‘Stay Safe’ – Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures
Angela Christofilou

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Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown
Angela Christofilou

20/29 Camden High Street
There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops
Angela Christofilou

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Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day
Angela Christofilou

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Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up
Angela Christofilou

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Empty streets around Soho
Angela Christofilou

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A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home
Angela Christofilou

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Camden High Street, one of London’s busiest tourist streets turns quiet
Angela Christofilou

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Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
Angela Christofilou

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Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced
Angela Christofilou

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A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road
Angela Christofilou

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A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub
Angela Christofilou

1/29
A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street
Photos Angela Christofilou

2/29
Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread
Angela Christofilou

3/29
An empty street in the heart of Chinatown
Angela Christofilou

4/29
People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown
Angela Christofilou

5/29
A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown
Angela Christofilou

6/29
Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance
Angela Christofilou

7/29
A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus
Angela Christofilou

8/29
Making sure I stay two-meters apart – D’Arblay Street, Soho
Angela Christofilou

9/29
A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice
Angela Christofilou

10/29
A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden
Angela Christofilou

11/29
As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street
Angela Christofilou

12/29
A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area
Angela Christofilou

13/29
Communities have been coming together in a time of need
Angela Christofilou

14/29
A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day
Angela Christofilou

15/29
A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced
Angela Christofilou

16/29
During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown
Angela Christofilou

17/29
Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time
Angela Christofilou

18/29
‘Stay Safe’ – Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures
Angela Christofilou

19/29
Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown
Angela Christofilou

20/29 Camden High Street
There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops
Angela Christofilou

21/29
Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day
Angela Christofilou

22/29
Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up
Angela Christofilou

23/29
Empty streets around Soho
Angela Christofilou

24/29
A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home
Angela Christofilou

25/29
Camden High Street, one of London’s busiest tourist streets turns quiet
Angela Christofilou

26/29
Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
Angela Christofilou

27/29
Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced
Angela Christofilou

28/29
A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road
Angela Christofilou

29/29
A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub
Angela Christofilou
On Saturday, home secretary Priti Patel provoked anger by expressing similar sentiment by saying she was “sorry if people feel there have been failings” in protecting health workers.
Meanwhile, a new survey found a third of surgeons and trainees across the UK do not believe they have an adequate supply of protective equipment to do their job safely.
The survey of nearly 2,000 surgeons and surgical trainees also found that 57 per cent said there had been shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) at their organisations in the last 30 days.
The research, carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), showed a wide regional variation, with more than half in the Thames Valley saying they now have access to adequate PPE compared to about a third in the northwest. In London 33 per cent of respondents said they did not believe their NHS trust had an adequate supply of protective equipment.
Sir Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader, said it would be “smart” of the government to acknowledge their ambitions for the supply of PPE have not been matched, adding: “And probably just to apologise for that and get on with it.”
He also called for underpaid staff in the health service to receive pay rises in the wake of the global pandemic. And he did not rule out a future Labour government raising taxes to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.