Labour deputy leadership candidate Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who is also an NHS doctor and still does regular A&E shifts, asked about protective equipment and testing for NHS staff at PMQs today.
The Labour MP said: “My NHS colleagues on the frontline are already stressed with the pressure that they face. Last night, I visited my father in a care home and I am acutely aware that I may have fed him for the very last time.
“We are in unprecedented times. I would like to know, where was the forward planning for PPE for our NHS and care staff? Where is the testing for medics? Why are we waiting so long for mass testing? And why are social distancing measures merely just suggestions?”
The Prime Minister said he agreed with Allin-Khan and expressed thanks for her NHS work. He added: “We have stockpiles of PPE… We are proceeding in accordance with the best scientific advice.”
But UK medics have warned that they are at risk of dying from Covid-19 as the protective gear requirements for health workers treating infected patients were downgraded last week. An NHS doctor told The Guardian they were “seriously considering” whether they could keep working.
“Without good leadership people in this country will start to panic”
Labour’s Dr Rosena Allin-Khan asks “where is the testing for medics?”
Boris Johnson: “We are proceeding in accordance with the best scientific advice… that is how you save lives”https://t.co/0v0cGWtvjM pic.twitter.com/zN0xaPzozh
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 18, 2020
More from LabourList
What are Labour MPs reading, watching and listening to this Christmas?
‘Musk’s possible Reform donation shows we urgently need…reform of donations’
Full list of new Labour peers set to join House of Lords