Coronavirus: NHS hospitals will not have enough protective gowns for months, leaked email reveals

A leaked email sent to NHS trusts warns most will run out of gowns this weekend and will not have “sustainable” levels again until the middle of June, The Independent can reveal.

The warning was sounded by a military liaison officer brought in by the government after the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency.

The email was sent to hospitals and other NHS trusts as Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said he could not guarantee hospitals would have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to get through the weekend.

Within hours doctors and nurses were asked to treat patients without gowns, where necessary, and use plastic aprons as an alternative.

The previous guidance for healthcare workers had been to wear full-length waterproof surgical gowns to protect against transfer of the virus.

But in a significant shift, staff have been asked to treat coronavirus patients without gowns because of a “global shortage” of equipment.

In the leaked email the officer wrote to hospitals and other NHS trusts saying: “I can confirm that regions were informed that there will be no deliveries of gowns until 27 Apr and a sustainable level will not be reached until after mid-Jun.”

He added: “My assessment is that most trusts will be out of stock after the weekend on current consumption.”

He said there were still a certain amount of gowns “out there” and asked hospitals to “provide mutual aid where you can”.

Trusts were to continue to log their requests he said, but added “we have no idea when the next stock will arrive”.

On Friday evening Public Health England issued new guidance, advising medics to wear “disposable, non-fluid repellent gowns or coveralls” or “washable surgical gowns”, with aprons, and to wash their forearms afterwards.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has already told nurses they can refuse to treat patients if they do not have proper personal protective equipment.

The government has faced weeks of criticism over the lack of protective gear reaching the front line.

Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and other NHS trusts, said the supply of clinical gowns was “critical” and that emergency deliveries had been sought from other countries.

“It is now clear that some trusts will run out of fully fluid repellent gowns this weekend,” she added.

She said that trusts and the National Strategic Reserve (NSR) had very carefully managed the last remaining stock and helped each other where possible.

She also praised the fire service, police, local authorities and vets who have donated their gowns to the NHS.

Mr Hancock told MPs on the Commons Health Select Committee he would love to be able to “wave a magic wand” and have enough PPE “fall from the sky in large quantities” but that was impossible because of a global shortage of stock.

Ed Davey, the acting co-leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “The increased risk this will pose to frontline workers is intolerable.

“Ministers’ repeated assurances that the supply of protective kit for staff is under control now look totally threadbare. The government’s failure to take advice and look at alternative supply options, such as working with EU partners, now looks like a serious mistake.”

Asked to comment on the leaked email, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There is demand from every country in the world wanting PPE, which is why we’re working hard to ensure enough supply is reaching the frontline.

“This is why a PPE strategy has been launched to set out how we can deliver more PPE, including crucially how British manufacturers can step forward and scale up manufacturing.”

Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan, an A&E doctor and shadow mental health minister, said the failure to provide adequate PPE would result in the deaths of more NHS staff.

She tweeted: “My sadness is turning into anger. The government promised us that the NHS would be given everything it needed to tackle coronavirus. At least 56 healthcare staff have died of Covid-19. The lack of PPE will certainly result in more avoidable deaths.”