Women’s PPE is often men’s equipment shrunk to a smaller size, which doesn’t fit women’s bodies, is completely unfit for purpose and can place people in danger
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has been warned its PPE stockpile must be fit for women amid concerns over its safety.
Women’s PPE is often men’s equipment shrunk to a smaller size, which doesn’t fit women’s bodies, is completely unfit for purpose and often dangerous.
The GMB union has ensured that up to 250,000 women will now be protected by having companies sign up to an inclusive PPE Charter, but there are now calls to expand it to help keep our heroes safe.
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As many as 70% of women suffer from ill-fitting protective equipment, with tens of thousands feeling unsafe, embarrassed and scared at work, according to a GMB survey. Labour MP Kirsteen Sullivan and GMB and Mel Bartlett, GMB PPE Fit for All Campaign head have now written to the UKHSA demanding action.
They said: “GMB has gathered evidence from frontline health workers, particularly women, disabled people and marginalised groups, showing a significant proportion cannot access PPE that adequately fits and protects. We believe this creates a foreseeable risk and has direct implications on the health and safety of the entire workforce and the population they serve.
“Ill-fitting PPE cannot be relied upon to keep the user protected from disease. This undermines infection prevention and control effectiveness, creating foreseeable risk for marginalised groups and a potential value for money issue if stockpiled equipment is not fit for purpose.”
UKHSA has been urged to review its PPE standard, introduce fit-to-form requirements, and assess whether current assumptions around PPE fit create avoidable risk. Last year this newspaper revealed Tory failure to check the viability of PPE for up to two years cost the taxpayer £762million.
It comes with the UK is preparing to develop a new national contact tracing system and build stockpiles of PPE as part of its £1 billion health protection strategy aimed at improving the country’s readiness for future outbreaks, following lessons learned from the pandemic.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Ms Sullivan added: “We’ve had no shortage of PPE scandals with previous governments; any new PPE stockpile must be value for money. £1bn is a huge sum of public money and our public services need to be able to reliably deploy this PPE. The UKHSA must put people at the heart of procurement and ensure PPE is truly fit for all.”
Ms Bartlett said: “If we are going to spend £1bn on PPE, we must make sure it fits the people who rely on it. Across the health sector, equipment such as masks and gloves are workers’ last line of defence against infections and diseases. The UKHSA failing to procure equipment with a diverse workforce in mind risks repeating the disproportionate harm marginalised workers faced during the pandemic.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The safety of NHS and social care staff is a priority for this government, and it is already a legal requirement that employers provide PPE that fits their workers correctly and meets their needs. PPE stockpiles include a range of sizes across all products.
“We are investing £1 billion in health protection across a range of measures including enhancing access to vaccines and improving pandemic surveillance systems, to ensure we are prepared for the next pandemic.”