Doncaster nurse begs on Facebook for PPE as hospital moves to reassure staff over gowns

In a Facebook post, the nurse, who we have not named wrote: “Just received the news that we are now being expected to take off contaminated gowns hang them up and then reuse them once we have had breaks.

“It’s quite difficult donning and doffing as it is when the gown is clean, never mind when it’s contaminated.

“Please, please, please if anybody knows of any companies that could spare us some PPE then please we are begging them to help. We are all extremely anxious about the lack of equipment we need to keep ourselves, our families, colleagues and patients safe.”

However, bosses at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Doncaster Royal Infirmary, said PPE stocks were in good supply.

A spokesman said: “This only relates to long-sleeve gowns at the Trust, which are used only in very specific episodes of care and we have good supplies of disposable aprons which are used the majority of the time when caring for patients.

“This decision has been taken with all relevant guidance in mind, and only after extensive testing. We have shared approriate guidance and also developed a video tutorial for colleagues.

“We are recommending that colleagues can safely take off a long-sleeved gown, hang it in an appropriate and designated area, take a break, then come back and safely put this item back on upon their return. This is in line with recent national guidance.

"As ever, we are recommending that long-sleeve gowns should still only be used one per shift, and replaced if damaged or visibly soiled. We are working hard to ensure we have appropriate levels of personal protection equipment (PPE) at the Trust, and safely maintaining our stocks will ensure that don’t encounter any shortages.

“We believe this way of working is entirely safe. We have also preformed local tests for this process, which has evidenced minimal risk to our colleagues.

"Throughout this situation we have done everything we can to keep our staff safe, our commitment to their health and wellbeing is unchanged and we would never do anything to put them at risk.

"The global suppy chains for PPE are incredibly challenging at the moment, but we have relatively healthy stores at the Trust. We want to ensure that this is the case long into the future."