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[Gam-Ol / Creative Commons]
CARE workers and community nurses are using the kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus outbreak that they would usually wear for making a sandwich, GMB said yesterday.
Many workers are only provided with a simple plastic apron and gloves and are left without masks and hand sanitiser, the union’s care lead Kelly Andrews warned.
GMB said that it is receiving hundreds of calls a day from care workers concerned about a lack of PPE, while staff say that they are sometimes expected to turn up even if they have Covid-19 symptoms.
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
