Responding to comments made at the press briefing by the
chancellor, , and the deputy chief
medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief executive of
NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:
“At this critical time, it is welcome to hear that the government
echoes the concerns of trust leaders on staff testing. We must
move towards more widespread testing for staff as rapidly as
possible.
“These tests will ensure that frontline staff who are self
isolating according to official advice are able to continue to go
to work if they do not have Covid-19.
“But trust leaders are telling us they need urgent clarity on the
approach to staff testing for Covid-19.
“We need the government and national NHS leaders to sort this
situation out, to help ensure the NHS has as many of its staff
available as possible at this difficult time.”
On personal protective equipment (PPE), she added:
“Ensuring NHS staff have confidence in the equipment they work
with is an absolute priority for trust leaders.
“There are mounting concerns about the changes to the guidance on
PPE, with a widespread perception among staff that the approach
recommended by the World Health Organisation has in some ways
been watered down.
“This is causing real anxiety for frontline staff whose priority
is to keep their patients and themselves safe.
“Trust leaders need urgent clarification about the recent change
in guidance on PPE from Public Health England.”
