NHS staff plea to Government for more PPE in a video projected onto Palace of Westminster
NHS staff have made a plea to the Government for more personal protective equipment (PPE) in a video projected onto the Palace of Westminster.
The projection, organised by political protest group Led by Donkeys, was set up by a two-person team who arrived separately and observed strict social distancing throughout.
In the protest video NHS staff members read a letter to the Government, asking for PPE to "save the lives of those that we clap for every single Thursday".
'Led By Donkeys; posted a video to Twitter of the protest that took place on Thursday evening, writing: "A message to the Government".
"Prime Minister, we're happy to hear that you've recovered from Covid-19... The NHS saved your life. Now we need you to save ours," the video begins.
One NHS staff member in the video explained that one of her colleagues had died after contracting coronavirus.
NHS staff members said: "This week we've seen healthcare assistants, nurses and doctors in the NHS losing their lives to this deadly disease... An already very stressful time for NHS staff is being made worse by inadequate protection."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared before a virtual session of the Commons Health Committee on Friday where he was questioned about the lack of PPE in the care sector.
He admitted the UK is “tight on gowns” but that 55,000 more are due to arrive today.
He also said there had been a "Herculean effort" to deliver PPE around the country and that, as of this weekend, "1 billion items" of protective equipment would have been shipped."
He added: “There’s nothing that I can say at this select committee that will take away the fact that we have a global challenge and we’re doing everything we can to resolve it to get that PPE to the front line.”