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Care providers desperate to plug PPE gaps for at-risk staff as sector is hit by severe shortage
Care providers across the country are calling on the government to increase the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff members as they contend with a severe shortage of vital protective equipment during the coronavirus outbreak.
Inside Housing has heard stories of social landlords appealing to local nail bars for PPE equipment and relying on local manufacturers to produce sub-medical grade equipment in order to overcome acute shortages.
One senior housing and care sector source said despite warnings since early March “social care has been forgotten by the government until the past few days”, following multiple reports of outbreaks and deaths in care homes.
They said: “The problem with PPE is not about distribution, but not having enough of it. The distribution channels can all be working fine but there has simply been a lack of national leadership in ensuring we have enough supply.”
Organisations have said they will be forced to stop providing services to residents if they cannot source PPE for staff and hand care contracts back to local authorities.
“We need guidance on what to do if we simply can’t get PPE,” said one source.
“If you’ve tried various routes and there simply isn’t any, what is the next step? To not treat that person? Call 999? Do it anyway? What if my staff member gets ill and dies, what then?”
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The latest data from the Office for National Statistics, which covers the two weeks up to 3 April, shows there were 217 COVID-19 deaths in care homes across England and Wales, but providers believe the figure could be far higher. In Scotland, 25% of the 962 deaths have been in care homes.
Holly Dagnall, director of homes and well-being at Nottingham Community Housing Association, said care staff are “living hand to mouth” with less than a week’s supply of disposable masks and aprons.
The association, which runs nine care homes, has also put out a social media appeal to local business asking for help in sourcing and manufacturing PPE. This appeal has seen a staff member’s husband switch production at his sign making business to creating visors for staff, but noted that this was not medical-grade equipment.
The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, provider of housing for people over 55, also put out an urgent appeal via Facebook calling for extra PPE.
Bruce Moore, chief executive of 20,000-home Housing 21, said: “Our big ask has been PPE. We’ve found our normal supply routes have had all supply requisitioned by the NHS, which has left a load of supported housing providers without enough.”
He said that across two extra care sites and three retirement homes the organisation has seen 25 deaths and 110 coronavirus cases so far, although he added that he felt the country is now “turning the corner” on the provision of PPE.
Michael Voges, chief executive of the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), said: “We need to start having an honest conversation about what we do if PPE is not just difficult to get hold of but non-existent. How do we continue to deliver care to vulnerable people if we can’t follow the guidelines? What do we tell our staff?”
Health secretary Matt Hancock said during the government’s daily briefing on Wednesday that the government is “increasing, again, PPE supplies for social care”.
“We will continue priority drops to local resilience forums... while we roll-out our new online delivery system for social care settings. This will be integrated with the NHS supply chain’s central PPE logistical operations with kits shipped directly to social care providers by Royal Mail.”
Providers also warned that their workforce will be severely reduced as more people fall ill or self-isolate.
David Bogle, chief executive of Hightown Housing Association, which runs 13 care homes, said: “Generally we have managed to get the PPE, even though it has been touch and go at times. The main problem is staffing.”
He noted that Hightown currently has double the normal amount of staff who are sick or self-isolating “so that means more shifts to fill with the people who are still OK”.
The government announced on Wednesday that it would extend testing to “everyone who needs it” in social care, including patients and staff.
Ian Martin, chief executive of Estuary Housing Association, said the move could “make issues around staffing easier as there will be a certainty about whether staff should work or not”.
Commenting on testing, a spokesperson for the Care Quality Commission said: “Using our national infrastructure, we are delivering a new service that enables care staff who are self-isolating due to symptoms of coronavirus to book an appointment at one of 12 testing sites across the UK – and soon they will be able to use this service to order a kit to test at home.
“We are contacting providers across England so employers can identify staff eligible for testing in line with PHE [Public Heath England] guidance and refer them to their local testing centre.
“This means care staff can have more peace of mind about their own safety and that of their families and the people they care for – and that those who test negative can return to work sooner, which will help relieve pressures services are facing.
“Since Friday we have contacted over 11,000 organisations, referred 3,317 care workers and are scaling this up daily so we can provide support across England, working in partnership with local government to ensure that testing reaches everyone who needs it and to prioritise testing where demand is greatest.”
