Doctors and nurses will be asked to reuse gowns to deal with the lack of supply, according to a new report.

Earlier today the head of an NHS trust warned staff could run out of hospital gowns this weekend.

A source has now told the Guardian medical workers will be advised to wear an apron instead of a full-length protective gown.

They said: ‘The new guidance will say “this is what you do if you don’t have any gowns”.

‘Wear an apron instead – that will be the new policy for the foreseeable future, though the medical organisations will go mad about that.’

Professor Keith Willett, Director for Acute Care to NHS England, is expected to issue the advice to staff that will include reusing gowns for a whole session.

A hospital chief in southern England, who wished to remain anonymous, has asked for help from British fashion company Burberry.

The man asked the BBC for a phone number for the firm, which has recently retooled its trench coat factory in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to begin PPE production.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also admitted to a Health Committee meeting this afternoon the NHS was ‘tight on gowns’.

He said such large-scale distribution of PPE items was a challenge of ‘logistics’.

He said: ‘We are tight on gowns – that is the pressure point at the moment – we have another 55,000 gowns arriving today … and we’re working on the acquisition internationally of more gowns, but it is a challenge.

‘The one thing that I can be absolutely sure of, hand on heart, is that everyone in the system is doing all they possibly can to get the right PPE to the right places.

‘(PPE) is, I’ve said before, a precious resource, and the reason it is precious is that globally there is very, very high demand.’

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High-end fashion retailers in the UK, including Burberry, Barbour and David Nieper, have stepped up to help meet the demand for personal protective equipment following reports of ongoing shortages.

Firms have reopened UK factories and re-enlisted staff who had been furloughed to help boost supplies.

Burberry said it is using its global supply chain to fast-track more than 100,000 surgical masks to the UK NHS and is also funding research into a single-dose vaccine – due to start clinical trials next month at the University of Oxford.

Asked about the PPE produced by such manufacturers, Mr Hancock praised the “national effort” but urged more companies to come forward.

Shadow Health Minister Justin Madders said the amount of key workers still without protective equipment was a ‘scandal’.

He said: ‘Workers have been sounding the alarm for weeks now and the Government has had months to put things in place.

‘It is outrageous that supplies keep running so low, protecting those staff who are risking their lives every time they go to work should be an absolute priority.

‘Ministers need to make good on their promises, sort out the supply issues and work to make sure no staff member feels unsafe because of a lack of PPE. 

‘It is no good making grand promises if they later turn out to be undeliverable.’

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