Ministers have come under fire for saying personal protective equipment (PPE) should be treated as a 'precious resource' amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Dame Donna Kinnair, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said any suggestion that health workers were 'abusing or overusing' PPE was offensive.
It comes after health secretary Matt Hancock said it was important that NHS workers used 'the right amount of PPE' and treat it as 'precious resource'.
Dame Donna hit back at his comments saying that no PPE was “more precious a resource than a healthcare worker’s life, a nurse’s life, a doctor’s life”.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast Dame Donna said that every day she was hearing from nurses saying they did not have enough protective equipment.
“I think what we know is, we don’t have enough supply and not enough regular supply of PPE," she said.
“This is the number one priority nurses are bringing to my attention, that they do not have adequate supply of protective equipment.”
The BMA medical union warned on Friday that PPE supplies in London and Yorkshire are at 'dangerously low levels'.
The health secretary has also faced criticism from the Labour Party's new leader Keir Starmer who said it was 'insulting' to imply frontline staff were wasting PPE.
He tweeted: “It is quite frankly insulting to imply frontline staff are wasting PPE.
“There are horrific stories of NHS staff and care workers not having the equipment they need to keep them safe.
“The government must act to ensure supplies are delivered.”
Mr Hancock has said there is enough PPE to go round if it is used in line with official guidance, and his goal is that 'everyone' working in a critical role gets what they need.
At yesterday's press briefing, Mr Hancock also urged the public not to overuse protective equipment, in particular face masks which the government does not recommend for general use.
He reiterated that hand washing and social distancing are the best forms of protection and said "a front door is better than any face mask".
