I'M SORRY
Minister finally apologises to NHS staff over lack of PPE equipment after sparking outrage by earlier refusing to do so
A MINISTER has finally apologised to NHS staff over a lack of PPE equipment after sparking outrage by refusing to do so just minutes earlier.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma today said sorry to the frontline staff struggling to get essential kit tools during the coronavirus crisis.
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The government has been criticised for not providing enough PPE to health workers, with nurses forced to share equipment despite being on the frontline of the pandemic.
There have also been reports of exhausted medics forced to cut up hospital curtains to make makeshift gowns due to a lack of protective clothing, and others snapped wearing rubbish bags around the bodies and mouths.
Appearing on Sophy Ridge on Sunday this morning, Mr Sharma has now admitted there was work to be done.
He said: “It is our job to make sure we get that health care equipment, that PPE, out to them.
“Right now, your viewers will be asking does the government have a plan to get this PPE out to the front line and the answer is, yes we do have a plan.
“We are putting that in place, with millions of pieces of PPE kit going out to the front line. Of course, we need to be doing even more.”
Asked to apologise, he instead said he was “sorry for the loss of any life during this pandemic”.
Just minutes later he apologised on the Andrew Marr show, but did not quite admit the Government was to blame.
He said: “I’m incredibly sorry that people feel they are not able to get this equipment.
“It's self-evident that we need more PPE".
More than 30 NHS workers are believed to have died after contracting the virus.
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It comes as the Royal College of Nursing told its members they could refuse to treat patients if they do not have the correct equipment.
The RCN's new guidance says if sufficient PPE cannot be supplied and treatment cannot be delayed, nurses should decline to work.
A spokesman for the union said: "For nursing staff, this will go against every instinct.
“But their safety must not be compromised."
Yesterday the Home Secretary Priti Patel offered a half-hearted apology, saying she was "sorry if people feel there have been PPE failings"
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed more than 742 million pieces of PPE have been delivered.
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Priti Patel gives half-hearted 'apology' for government's PPE failings
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