Doctors, nurses, and other health workers have expressed concerns over revised coronavirus guidance, which allows some personal protective equipment (PPE) to be reused at hospitals in England.
An official from the British Medical Association (BMA) said the change could see frontline doctors and nurses deciding they cannot treat COVID-19 patients.
Some hospitals said they might run out of PPE, such as gowns, used in ICUs this weekend.
However, the government said it has been working to provide the PPE stocks that hospitals need.
Health professionals treating COVID-19 patients have been advised to wear long-sleeved disposable fluid repellent gowns.
But the CEO of National Health Service (NHS) Providers, Chris Hopson, said some medical trusts will be running out of the PPE supply this weekend.
Hopson tweeted, “We have now reached the point where national stock of fully fluid repellent gowns and coveralls exhausted. So some trusts will run out of this type of gown/coverall in next 24-48 hours. What next?”
He said national health leaders have been leaving no stone unturned in providing PPE stocks. However, the gowns are made in China and are currently arriving in “fits and start” even after ordering weeks ago.
On Friday, public health officials in England changed guidance, asking medical professionals to work without full-length gowns and to reuse other certain items, as “some compromise is needed to optimize the supply of PPE in times of extreme shortages.”
Experts have expressed concern over the nation’s guidance that urges doctors and nurses to reuse PPE items.
For instance, the Royal College of Nursing said the new guidance of reusing certain items was developed without a full consultation. The BMA said any change in guidance must be driven by science and not by availability.
Chair of the BMA Consultants Committee Dr. Rob Harwood said, “If it’s being proposed that staff reuse equipment, this must be demonstrably driven by science and the best evidence – rather than availability – and it absolutely cannot compromise the protection of healthcare workers.”
“Too many healthcare workers have already died,” Dr. Harwood added. “More doctors and their colleagues cannot be expected to put their own lives on the line in a bid to save others, and this new advice means they could be doing just that. It’s not a decision they should have to make.”
A spokesperson of the Department of Health said, “New clinical advice has been issued today to make sure that if there are shortages in one area, front-line staff know what PPE to wear instead to minimize risk.” The article originally published on BBC News.
