dentist

Dentists and anaesthetists are one of the latest groups who have said that they are working without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) during the fight against Covid-19.

The number of Covid-19 cases are rising in the UK, in Salford, there is now a total of 477 cases.

With there being in the UK at least 50 NHS workers that have now died after contracting Covid-19.

There are many dental practices in Salford as shown here which could be affected by the lack of PPE:

The British Dental Association (BDA) said that dentists in England are facing “critical shortages” of PPE, while the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA) said doctors should not treat patients without proper equipment.

This comes after over half (54%) of dentists in England said PPE shortages are hampering efforts to treat patients at urgent dental care (UDC) hubs, according to a survey of 1,010 UK dentists by the BDA.

The BDA said a lack of PPE has meant some UDC hubs cannot currently treat patients.

Credit: Zaynah Esat

BDA chairman Mick Armstrong said: “Many dentists have been redeployed, only to find their hands tied by a critical shortage of kit, and delays in training and fit-testing.

“Patients are taking matters into their own hands, while desperate colleagues shop around for Scuba gear in a bid to keep themselves safe. It is time for a genuinely national effort to get PPE to the NHS front line.”

The RCA’s president Professor Ravi Mahajan said members should not risk their safety to provide care for coronavirus victims.

He said if an anaesthetist tries “their best to acquire and use effective PPE but, having made all the efforts they reasonably can, are forced to conclude that the risk to their own health is unacceptable and that they cannot treat a patient, the Royal College of Anaesthetists will offer them its support”.

This comes as Labour MP Rachel Reeves said UK firms offering to make PPE for health workers have heard “nothing back” from the Government.

Speaking on Tuesday on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Reeves said she has been “inundated” with requests from manufacturers to make PPE.

“There are many, many businesses around the country who have perhaps furloughed workers but have the capability and the capacity and the skills to make this personal protective equipment and clothing – particularly the gowns – but have not heard back from the Government,” said said.

“Some of them are doing it on an ad-hoc basis for local hospitals or care homes, but this needs to be systematic – it needs to be a national effort, using all of our manufacturing and textile capacity and capability to ensure that the doctors and nurses and care workers … have that equipment and clothing that they need.”

She said there had been “too much focus” on importing PPE from overseas and that there had not been enough focus on bringing smaller suppliers into the national effort.

“It is a disgrace that we’ve got people working on the front line who aren’t properly protected and Government’s first and foremost responsibility is to protect its citizens, and this now is our main priority.”

For more information on how you can protect yourself visit: www.nhs.uk

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