Rejected petition Effective personal protective equipment for NHS staff amid Covid-19 pandemic

Rejected on 31 March 2020

Current personal protective equipment (PPE) in NHS hospitals amid the Covid-19 pandemic consists of a surgical mask, apron, and a pair of gloves. This does not stop the transmission of SARS CoV-2.

Appropriate PPE consisting of FFP3 respirators, gowns, and visors are needed to protect NHS staff.

NHS staff need appropriate PPE to protect themselves and to protect the public as they are at high risk of being exposed to and passing on SARS CoV-2.

The government must take urgent action to ensure all NHS hospitals and healthcare facilities are supplied with appropriate PPE, to protect the public and the healthcare staff who care for them in these dire times.

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/304243

Advice on the use of personal protective equipment is a matter for Public Health England, not the Government or Parliament.

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.