Bridget Phillipson Labour Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South
People will be aware of concerns that many key frontline workers continue to go without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). I welcome the Government’s efforts to increase the availability of protective equipment, but with an alarming number of key workers being made to do their jobs with little or no protection, it’s clear that more must be done.
I know there are specific concerns among those in the care sector that they have been left out. Unfortunately there are cases were staff have not been supplied with PPE equipment by their employers, and in many cases have been asked to provide this themselves. Yet this equipment is now extremely difficult to order online. Items are expensive and can take weeks to arrive. These workers must nonetheless, with no protective equipment, continue to do their job whilst putting themselves and their families at risk of transmission.
Care workers provide us with a vital service in protecting the elderly and the vulnerable in our society, and we cannot let them down.
I have written to the Government urging them to confirm that the delivery of PPE equipment has been extended to care workers in the private sector. I will do whatever I can to help ensure that all frontline workers can do their jobs during this pandemic with the protective equipment they need.