A vital shipment of protective equipment for NHS frontline staff has failed to arrive from Turkey.
Doctors reacted with fury at the delay, demanding ministers be held to account for the personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages forcing medics to treat patients with inadequate kit.
The latest fiasco came as it was revealed PM Boris Johnson chose not to attend five emergency Cobra meetings in the early days of the crisis.
The failure has led top medics to brand ministers’ treatment of NHS staff “shameful”.
The key delivery of 84 tons of PPE, including 400,000 gowns, was promised within 24 hours on Saturday
by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick at the daily media briefing.
But it never arrived and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Sunday the RAF was on standby to bring it from Turkey.
At the No10 briefing, he said: “We hope to see that coming into the country tomorrow.”
As Boris Johnson faced fury over his shambolic handling of the crisis and his failure to attend five Cobra meetings in January and February, doctors spoke of their dismay at the missing PPE shipment.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA, said: “Doctors were banking on the Government’s announcement of imminent extra supplies of PPE from overseas.
“This really is a matter of life and death.
"Doctors and healthcare staff are left fearful for their own health and safety – this is shameful.”
The hospital death toll reached 16,060 today, with a daily rise of 596.
At least 50 NHS workers have died from Covid-19 and on Saturday the Daily Mirror told how hospitals feared running out of PPE at the weekend as Public Health England changed its advice to allow the re-use of gowns.
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association said staff are being asked to “sacrifice” themselves by working with inadequate kit, weeks after they warned of shortages.
The BMA said manufacturers had “hit a brick wall” trying to offer PPE to the Government.
Dr Claudia Paoloni, of the HCSA, said: “The Government must come clean on PPE and set out how it intends to get on top of this disgraceful situation with actions, not spin.
“We expect those responsible to be held accountable for their abject failure to protect our heroic frontline staff.
“The phrase ‘lions led by donkeys’ has never felt more appropriate.”
Dr Nagpaul said doctors treating coronavirus patients are “extremely afraid”.
He said: “Even more stressful is that doctors and other healthcare workers are treating their colleagues in inten-sive care on ventilators and, tragically, see some of them not survive.”
He said the BMA had written to the Government two weeks ago to pass on the names of around 70 firms which could make PPE but “hit a brick wall” as it was not followed up.
He said: “We made it clear weeks ago that we need to do something about the likelihood of a lack of PPE.”
Prof Neil Mortensen, of the Royal College of Surgeons, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the advice to reuse PPE and advised surgeons “not to risk their health”.
At the No10 briefing, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries said: “Some sessional use is entirely appropriate.
For example, wearing a gown for sessional use with a disposable plastic apron on top of it is an entirely appropriate use of PPE.”
Mr Williamson ducked questions about why more was not done to stockpile PPE in February and March, and was unable to say why the Government had failed to respond to manufacturers which were willing to produce PPE.
He said they would be contacted within 24 hours.
The scramble UK missed a chance o participate in a massive EU scheme to buy £1.3billion of PPE, with the Government claiming it did not get an email inviting it to join the scheme.
Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Michael Gove today confirmed that, earlier this year, the UK had sent 273,000 items of PPE to China, where the outbreakstarted.
But he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We have received far more from China than we have given.”
Officials say that 25 million gowns are on their way from China.
Earlier this year, many countries rejected substandard PPE kit from China, while Britain received 3.5 million faulty antibody test kits from the country.
Hitting out over the lack of proper safety gear, Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “MPs are constantly passing on details of British firms offering to manufacture PPE.
“Ministers need to get a grip.”
Paul Deighton, who led the UK’s 2012 Olympic planning, is now driving domestic production of PPE.
