Doctors and nurses across Kent say they are putting their lives on the line every day as “inadequate” protective gear leaves them exposed to Covid-19.

Scores of frontline staff have contracted the virus and hundreds are off sick, while many have been left critically ill in intensive care.

A senior doctor has warned that people will “die unnecessarily” if medics are not given adequate protection.

Many of those who have contracted the virus had worked on Covid-19 wards wearing only loose-fitting surgical masks, gloves and a plastic apron.

Hospital workers say the lack of protection offered by the equipment – which conforms to the latest Public Health England (PHE) guidance – has left staff “petrified” of treating coronavirus patients.

One nurse at the QEQM Hospital in Margate, where at least two senior doctors with Covid-19 are fighting for their lives, told KentOnline: “It’s so frightening to go into a room where all these patients are Covid-19 positive, and all we’re protected by is a flimsy surgical mask, an apron and some gloves.

“The staff are petrified. You go into a bay with eight patients, the sliding doors shut and you don’t come out for two hours.

“We’re being allowed to walk into that, contract the virus and bring it home to our families.”

Current PHE guidelines state that anyone working within two metres of a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patient should wear an apron, gloves and a fluid-repellant surgical mask.

Clinicians carrying out tasks that could generate airborne droplets of saliva loaded with the virus should use an even higher standard of protection, including disposable long-sleeved gowns, face-shielding visors, and respirators known as FFP3 masks.

But frightened staff argue that all frontline workers should be given the advanced PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), including the tight-fitting FFP3 masks, which are capable of filtering out 95% of airborne particles.

Instead they are left with just the surgical masks, which are loose fitting and offer less protection against smaller airborne droplets.

Video: NHS and social care workers in Kent calling for more PPE as supplies start to run out

On one ward at the QEQM earlier this month, a number of workers are understood to have gone down with Covid-19 symptoms within 48 hours of each other, with at least two admitted to the hospital in a serious condition.

The nurse said: “Poorly patients are coughing in your face while you’re trying to clean their mouths, feeding them, rolling them, holding their hand and reassuring them they’re going to be OK.

“We’re being exposed for hours and hours. The viral load is huge.”

Nurse's death sparked wave of fear

On April 2, 39-year-old mum-of-three Aimee O’Rourke – who worked at the QEQM – was tragically the first nurse in the UK to die after testing positive for the virus, although it is understood she did not contract it at the hospital.

On Friday, occupational therapist Vivek Sharma, an employee of Medway Community Healthcare, died after battling Covid-19.

Darent Valley Hospital radiographer Paul Skegg, 42, feared he was going to die after contracting the virus, and even proposed to his girlfriend during his 11-day spell in intensive care. He has now recovered.

The government has publicly verified 27 deaths of NHS staff from Covid-19, but reports suggest the number is much higher.

The nurse told us: "When Aimee died there was just this huge fear that swept across everybody.

“It was horrific. We all thought, ‘Oh my God, this could happen to any of us’.

“People were having conversations with their partners and saying ‘what happens to the kids if one of us dies?’.”

The nurse is now calling on PHE to amend its guidance and for more flexibility in how it is administered by trusts.

“A surgical mask isn’t protecting us from anything,” they said.

“The filtration masks give you a sense of, ‘I’m going to be OK’ and can allow you to do your job better, to help your mental health.

“Not having one is like getting on a bike without a helmet – you just don’t feel confident or safe.

“We're saying to the government, 'gather your evidence afterwards and give us full protection now'. Don’t say six months down the line, ‘if we had given them masks they could have survived’.”

'We're risking our lives, and the lives of our families'

A senior doctor at the QEQM says denying all frontline staff across Kent the advanced PPE will see people die “unnecessarily”.

“There is no robust research evidence to support it,” they said.

“On the contrary, evidence and experiences published from China and Italy suggest that advanced PPE is essential in ‘high-risk areas’, especially where the viral load is particularly high due to continuous exposure.

“We have come to this point led by a supply shortage in the NHS chain. It is a time of sorrow, for doctors and nurses, to know that we risk our lives, and the lives of our families, colleagues and patients, working without the appropriate PPE.

“Morale among the staff is low. We have not learned enough from the sad deaths of our colleagues.”

On Friday, PHE also amended its guidance to allow single-use items of PPE to be reused in high-risk areas such as intensive care units if in short supply.

“The latest guidance deprives doctors and nurses from caring for their patients effectively and compassionately,” our doctor added.

“The lack of appropriate PPE also hinders any efforts to effectively control the infection within the healthcare sector.

“We have had several reports, so far, of patients contracting Covid-19 infection in the hospital or a primary care facility.

“It is expected that lack of appropriate equipment will only exacerbate this problem and people, especially older in age, will die unnecessarily.”

'Give them the best protection available'

Kent MP Sir Roger Gale has spoken to concerned nurses about issues concerning PPE and guidance on its use.

The 76-year-old Conservative - who is self-isolating - says "common sense" should allow the kit to be used by whoever feels they need it.

"This isn't a case of rewriting the rulebook to support the supply, it's a case of them (PHE) saying, professionally, they think this is what we need," he said.

"I don't have the qualifications to tell them they're wrong, but the boys and girls on the frontline need the best that we can give them, to make them feel secure.

"Somebody working on a blue ward is not at the same level of risk as someone inserting tubes in ITU, which is very high-risk. But, they are breathing the same air, they've got to get very close to patients to dress them, turn them, feed them. It's common sense that says there's no way you can distance yourself from that, you have to get close.

"My personal view is that those boys and girls need the very best equipment we can give them that makes them feel safe and comfortable.

"If we 're sending people into battle they have to have the right body armour.

"There needs to be sufficient flexibility, so those on the floor know they can go and get the stuff they need to do the job.

"These doctors and nurses are doing a very difficult, very dangerous job. They have to have peace of mind.

"Even if they're wrong and they don't need this stuff, but they feel they need it in order to do their job, then they should have it.

"I actually don't care whether it's necessary, what I care about is that they feel comfortable and safe, because if they don't they won't be able to do the best job by the people who may otherwise die."

Following the guidance

More than 300 staff across the East Kent Hospitals Trust’s sites - including the QEQM – are understood to be off work with issues related to Covid-19.

The Trust - which last week was carrying out 500 tests a day on staff and colleagues - says its use of PPE is in line with PHE guidance.

A PHE spokesperson said: “PHE, in collaboration with other partners, including the Health and Safety Executive, continually reviews guidance to ensure it is in line with the best available evidence and scientific knowledge to support frontline staff in responding to coronavirus and caring for patients.”

This paper asked what evidence is helping form its recommendations and was sent a link to the general website of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

The British Medical Association - the trade union for NHS staff - says PHE’s guidance “needs to be demonstrably driven by science and the best evidence in keeping with international standards, rather than by availability, and with absolutely no compromise to the protection of healthcare workers.”

The Department of Health says PPE stock in Kent is “currently in line with requirements”, but recognises maintaining an “adequate” supply is an “international issue” facing many countries during the pandemic.

Staff absence and testing

Wilf Williams, accountable officer for Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, has confirmed six per cent of staff across its NHS services are absent because of coronavirus.

He says a programme of staff testing is also helping to get those self-isolating back to work as quickly as possible.

“Our frontline staff across Kent and Medway are doing an amazing job to care for coronavirus patients and people with other urgent care needs," he added.

" Behind the scenes there are also thousands of staff working hard to support frontline teams.

“All of our acute hospitals are currently treating patients with coronavirus, and we have significantly increased the number of beds to support patients who need treatment. Across Kent and Medway we are currently using less than 50% of these specialist beds which we have available."

Can you help?

Many organisations, manufacturers and volunteers have helped make PPE for the East Kent Hospitals Trust in recent weeks.

Bosses are now said to have the ability to procure more equipment locally, and a taskforce set up to manufacture gowns is in particular need of an industrial supply of non-woven propylene fabric.

If you think you can help in any way, email joewalker@thekmgroup.co.uk and all correspondence will be forwarded on.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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