Sue Ryder hospice charity 'will run out of PPE within days'

Sue Ryder said its 1,000 medical staff need the right equipment to protect them from coronavirus

A hospice charity has warned it will run out of personal protective equipment (PPE) "within days".

Sue Ryder employs more than 1,000 doctors and nurses and has been providing end-of-life care for people with coronavirus.

It said it would have to stop looking after patients, putting extra strain on the NHS, unless there were "immediate changes to the PPE supply chain".

The government insisted it was working "around the clock" to provide supplies.

PPE includes masks, gloves and other clothing to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Sue Ryder, which opened its first UK home in Cavendish, Suffolk, in 1952, supports people living with terminal illnesses and neurological conditions.

It now runs a neurological centre near Ipswich and its hospices include sites in Peterborough and Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire.

A spokeswoman said the charity has been forced to buy it from private companies but the quality was not always acceptable.

The government insisted it was working "around the clock" to provide supplies of PPE

Director of nursing Sarah Gigg said: "The worst case scenario is we wouldn't able to take people from hospital.

"Our front-line staff are having to work with the anxiety that they might not have the equipment they need to protect themselves, and it's an unnecessary worry when they're already working in an emotionally demanding environment.

"It seems totally unnecessary that the whole hospice sector is having to work as hard as this to try to get the equipment it needs."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said more than one billion items of PPE will have been shipped in the UK by this weekend.

As well as hospitals, the Department of Health and Social Care said it was providing PPE to social care settings, including care homes, home-care providers and hospices.

A spokesperson said: "We are working with the military and established distributors to ensure PPE is available to all staff fighting this virus on the frontline."

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