Safer PPE and FFP3 masks for healthcare workers

Motion Text

That this House salutes the contribution of all healthcare professionals to combating the COVID-19 pandemic; recognises that with 49,000 healthcare professionals off work ill with COVID-19 some 13,000 more than the number of hospital inpatients with the disease, the environments in which they are working may be putting them at risk of contracting the virus; is concerned that not all healthcare professionals have access to the appropriate level of personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to keep themselves and their patients safe; notes that the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) Alliance, and Fresh Air NHS - representing hundreds of thousands of frontline staff - are all calling for better PPE for healthcare professionals, including for those not working in intensive care units; calls on the Government as a matter of urgency to ensure that all frontline healthcare workers working with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients? have immediate access to FFP3 masks; and calls on the Government urgently to commission an immediate, safety-first review of PPE guidance based on the environmental risks to healthcare staff in their workplaces and not just the risks inherent in the procedures they undertake.