NHS workers 'scapegoated' over lack of PPE

Posted by GMB Admin
Monday 6 April 2020
GMB Trade Union - NHS workers 'scapegoated' over lack of PPE

Implying ambulance staff are responsible for the shortage is as insensitive as it is unacceptable

Ambulance workers at St Helier hospital who raised concerns about lack of PPE are being 'scapegoated’ the shortages by manager, says GMB 

Staff raised concerns that full PPE was not being provided for workers transporting patients. 

In response a GMB rep raising the issue, senior NHS manager said: ‘no matter how much PPE we put into the vehicles, within hours it’s all gone...your time would be better spent helping us understand where the PPE is going and perhaps speaking to your members about the importance of keeping it on the vehicles’ 

Helen O’Connor, GMB Organiser, said: 

“Dismissing ambulance workers concerns and implying that they are responsible for this shortage is as insensitive as it is unacceptable.  

“NHS managers must engage with key workers, listen to and address their concerns in an open and honest way, while ensuring the PPE they need to do their job is actually there in the first place.  

“These bullying management methods, designed to silence the legitimate concerns of NHS workers, will only lead to the type of anger and distress that is unhelpful in this period.” 

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