Doctors washing and reusing protective equipment as stocks run out

Comments gathered by the British Medical Association (BMA) and shared with the PA news agency show how, as recently as Monday, medics were being forced to work without adequate PPE, with some turning to bin liners instead.

Some doctors have been told by their NHS trusts to reuse gowns and some have donated their share of PPE to nurses and healthcare assistants due to shortages.

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On Monday, an obstetrics and gynaecology trainee in the South East said there has been no eye protection for the last three weeks and there were no facilities to clean footwear.

"Surgical masks are not fluid resistant," they said. "There are no reinforced gowns for high volume procedures (e.g. C-section).

"PPE equipment is in short supply - and often locked away. We have bought more than £4,000 worth of PPE over the last four weeks as a group of trainees."

On the same day, an anaesthetics trainee in Scotland said: "We're having to wash our visors in disinfectant because we don't have enough.

"We also ran out of hand gel briefly and were provided with a bucket of steriliser to dip our hands in."

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A core medicine trainee in the East of England said: "Trust is now asking us reuse single-use gowns not only between patients but also when we leave and return from breaks."

A foundation year doctor on a Covid-19 ward for the elderly in the North West said on Monday: "After the death of two of our nursing colleagues, the trust, on the same day, announced that gowns would no longer be amply provided, and we had to ration the remaining supplies amongst our staff, on our ward.

"We decided to let our nurses and healthcare assistants have priority with the gowns, as they have more patient contact-time. As the gowns completely ran out, some staff used bin bags instead."