Health Secretary Matt Hancock has sparked anger by suggesting that some NHS workers may be using more personal protective equipment than needed.
The comment has been branded "insulting" by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, and unions have rubbished claims that staff are "overusing" PPE.
It comes amid reports of huge shortages across the health service, with exclusive pictures obtained by the Mirror show desperate medics cutting up hospital curtains to make gowns and using bits of plastic as makeshift masks due to kit shortages.
And the Health Secretary confirmed that 19 NHS workers have died since the start of the pandemic.
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Mr Hancock told the Today programme: “We have set out very clearly, based on deep epidemiological and medical research, having drawn out these guidelines with the representative bodies like the Royal College of Nursing and the BMA, we have drawn up guidelines on what to use.
“It is really important that people don’t overuse PPE either.
“I don’t want to impugn blame on people who have used more PPE than the guidelines suggest because I understand the difficulties in the circumstances.
“What I would say it is very important to use the right PPE and not overuse it.
“Of course there have been examples but I don’t want to stress that because I also understand the circumstances in which people might have used more PPE than was strictly necessary according to the guidelines.”
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has hit back at a suggestion that healthcare staff were “abusing or overusing” PPE.
RCN general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that no PPE was “more precious a resource than a healthcare worker’s life, a nurse’s life, a doctor’s life”.
Speaking later on BBC Breakfast Dame Donna said that every day she was hearing from nurses saying they did not have enough protective equipment.
Dame Donna added: “I take offence actually that we are saying that healthcare workers are abusing or overusing PPE.
“I think what we know is, we don’t have enough supply and not enough regular supply of PPE.
“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”.
And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “insulting” to suggest health care workers were “wasting” PPE.
The party boss tweeted: “It is quite frankly insulting to imply front line 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.”
