The shortage of PPE is indefensible, even if the government is working hard to remedy things

Editorial: What health professionals need more than a round of applause or a minute’s silence is a reliable supply of the tools to do their job

Cartoon by Brian Adcock

There is, rightly, growing support for a minute’s silence to honour the (at time of writing) 49 verified deaths of NHS staff during the pandemic. The military allusion is appropriate; this is indeed the new front line.

It is a matter of national shame that the bravery of NHS staff is not always matched by the quality of the personal protective equipment they are given. The latest amendments by Public Health England to the guidance about reusing and substituting gowns are alarming. So alarming, indeed, is the situation in some hospitals, GP surgeries, nursing homes, care homes and pharmacies, that leaders in healthcare are warning that frontline staff may soon be unable to carry out their duties because of the extreme risk to their own health, and indeed that of their families and the wider community if they become infected.

The UK is left in a position where ministerial statements and news reports are dominated by the progress of a planeload of kit running late from Turkey. The 400,000 gowns included will be exhausted at the current rate of use by the weekend at the latest. It is indefensible, even if ministers and officials are working hard to remedy things.