LONDON (Labour Buzz) – In a shocking development, NHS staff have been told they must treat COVID-19 patients without full-length protective gowns due to shortages of equipment, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

Labour Buzz is exceptionally concerned that NHS staff are set to face an even greater risk to their lives, with many more likely to contract the virus, the risk to life is now far greater. This choice presented by the government to NHS workers is completely unacceptable; how can the world’s 5th largest economy perform so badly? Our NHS staff deserve better.

Health minister Matt Hancock told a committee of lawmakers earlier that the UK was “tight on gowns” but had 55,000 more arriving on Friday and was aiming to get the right equipment where it was needed by the end of the coming weekend.

The Guardian reported that with hospitals across England set to run out of supplies within hours, Public Health England had changed guidelines which stipulated full-length, waterproof surgical gowns should be worn for high-risk hospital procedures.

The new advice states that when gowns run out alternative options include using a plastic apron, borrowing supplies from other hospitals, or wearing coveralls.

Sky News reported doctors and nurses had also been advised that single-use gowns could be used again because of the shortage.

The Department for Health and Social Care did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the change of advice.

Let us not forget that as reported by Labour Buzz, health experts attacked Boris Johnson after it emerged that he plans to withdraw the UK from the EU’s Pandemic early warning system (EWRS), something which, as recent events with coronavirus demonstrate, could be incredibly useful.

UK government science adviser confident health service capacity will not be breached

In some good news, the government’s top science adviser on Friday said he was confident that the capacity of the NHS would not be breached during the coronavirus outbreak thanks to measures taken to stem the pace of transmission.

“We are much more confident that the NHS is not going to have its capacity breached during this period,” Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said at a news conference.

Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader, said this week in an interview with the BBC that plans to exit the lockdown are being delayed by Dominic Raab, who is allegedly waiting for the prime minister to return to the helm after he recovers from his serious bout of Covid-19.

Over the last 10 days or so it had seemed “difficult for the government to make big decisions”, Starmer told the BBC’s Coronavirus Podcast: “I suspect, although I don’t know, that Dominic Raab is just reluctant – he probably does know that it’s time for an exit strategy – but he’s probably reluctant to sign it off without the prime minister and I think there’s a bit of that in the mix.”

Downing Street has responded to the Labour Party leader’s comments claiming them to be “just wrong”. The spokesman continued, “what the first secretary of state set out last night is we need to take a responsible approach. We need to ensure we need to keep the public’s minds focused on staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives.”

(Reporting by William James, Andy Bruce, and Kylie MacLellan; writing by Alistair Smout, and Michael O’Sullivan. Editing by Kylie MacLellan, William James and Michael O’Sullivan)