NHS staff 'at risk' over lack of protective gear

NHS staff say they are being put at risk during the coronavirus outbreak because of a lack of protective gear.

One doctor told the BBC that frontline healthcare workers felt like "cannon fodder" as they do not have access to equipment such as face masks. Health workers also expressed concerns that not enough of them were being tested for the virus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK had "stockpiles" of personal protective equipment (PPE). But Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, from lobbying group the Doctors' Association, said she had heard from doctors who had not got access to PPE - or it had expired or run out.

"All these doctors are worried that that's increasing their likelihood of contracting the virus and then ultimately spreading it to patients," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 18 March 2020