The Government has admitted that there are shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the NHS – but a newly announced ‘very large’ shipment is only likely to last the health service three days.

Amid an outcry around supply to medics fighting coronavirus, Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick conceded that gowns, masks and aprons were in ‘short supply’ amid ‘extremely challenging’ circumstances.

Speaking at the daily press conference on the Covid-19 outbreak, Mr Jenrick said ‘a very large consignment’ of 84 tonnes of PPE – including 400,000 gowns – is due to arrive in the UK from Turkey on Sunday. However, he did not reject a suggestion at the briefing that the gowns only equated to around three days of supplies – with around 155,000 being used daily.

He continued: ‘Demand is also very high. We are working with British manufacturers to ensure that they can make a contribution, and you’ve heard of some of the more prominent ones like Burberry and Barbour but there are many SMEs as well being involved in that, and my department is also involved in trying to ensure that the supplies that we have get out, not just to the NHS, critical though that is, but also to social care, often to smaller establishments like care homes, all across the country.’

Yesterday it was revealed that medical staff have been told to reuse gowns or turn to ‘flimsy aprons’ because supplies had got so low.

Asked about PPE, Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS, said: ‘I’m a doctor, I’ve worked for many years on the front line and I can absolutely assure you for me and my clinical colleagues, this is very personal.

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‘These are my friends, colleagues, extended family.’

He said the Government was working ‘incredibly hard’ to deliver PPE to frontline health staff, including the shipment arriving on Sunday, but stressed there was a ‘global emergency’ and strains on supply chains across the world.

He added: ‘The Government does stockpile PPE for pandemics, and that has been incredibly important and useful in our response to this.’

On the shipment from Turkey, Mr Jenrick explained: ‘Today I can report that a very large consignment of PPE is due to arrive in the UK tomorrow from Turkey, which amounts to 84 tonnes of PPE and will include for example, 400,000 gowns – so a very significant additional shipment.’

He went on: ‘There’s over 50,000 healthcare settings like that in the country, and we’re using local resilience forums, backed by almost 200 military planners to do the logistical task of taking the stocks that we do have, and getting them to the front line, but I completely accept that this is extremely challenging.

‘Supply in some areas, particularly gowns and certain types of masks and aprons, is in short supply at the moment, and that must be an extremely anxious time for people working on the front line, but they should be assured that we are doing everything we can to correct this issue, and to get them the equipment that they need.’

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