The deputy leader of North Somerset Council has issued an "urgent plea" for personal protective equipment (PPE), saying supplies are "drying up".
Councillor Mike Bell issued the appeal on Twitter, calling for people to donate masks, gloves, aprons and hand sanitiser for care workers and care home staff.
The council has appealed to local schools, colleges and businesses with such items to help “bridge the gap” until new stocks reach the south west - which is not expected to be until April 6.
Councillor Mike Bell, the council’s deputy leader and executive member for adult social care, said: “Our care homes and community care workers are desperate.
“We need basic items such as masks, disposable gloves, aprons and hand sanitiser.
“Please, if you have them stored away, and don’t have an immediate care-related need, get in touch. You will help save lives.”
A lack of PPE has been a constant talking point for days and a lack of adequate equipment is not just affecting care staff, but NHS staff too.
Medics and other frontline staff have complained about the lack of equipment including facemasks.
But deputy chief medical officer for England Jenny Harries said there was enough personal protective equipment (PPE) in the system.
Dr Harries said a new system for ordering – and the involvement of the army – had improved the way PPE reached hospitals.
“At the moment we have sufficient PPE across the country to manage all our needs,” she told MPs on the Commons Petitions Committee on Thursday, March 26.
But the Chair of the British Medical Association Chaand Nagpaul said there were issues with both the “adequacy and the supply” of personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS staff.
“We are flooded with anxieties and concerns by doctors – it is the single biggest issue at the moment,” he told the committee.
“I know we have had assurances around deliveries being escalated but we are still finding far too many of our members telling us that hasn’t translated on the ground."
