“It would be a struggle for any government to get exactly the right kit to the right place at the right time but what we’re seeing here is an increasing gap between what the government says or thinks is happening and what the frontline are telling us, and this gap has to be closed as soon as possible because people are putting their lives, literally, on the line when they go to work. They need the proper equipment in the right place,” the Labour leader said in a video posted on his Twitter page.
Starmer previously criticized Health Secretary Matt Hancock for implying that NHS workers were wasting personal protective equipment. On 10 April, the government published a UK-wide plan to ensure supplies of personal protective equipment for health care workers.
Frontline health workers in the UK are facing a shortage of personal protective equipment, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, the organization that manages all the regional NHS trusts, said on 13 April.
As of Tuesday, the UK Department of Health and Social Care has reported over 129,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, up 4,301 over the preceding 24 hours. The death toll currently stands at 17,337, after 823 additional deaths were confirmed.