Britain, besieged by the coronavirus, is no country for old doctors enlisted, but poorly equipped to fight a deadly foe

Four days ago the The Guardian published an article entitled :

It made the point that doctors are angry about Public Health England’s new advice issued last week, which reduces the level of the personal protective equipment (PPE) that staff need to wear. Medics believe the change in advice was driven by the lack of equipment rather than a change in the clinical evidence about the risks from the virus.

Previously, staff were told to wear full PPE, comprising:

FFP3 masks, which offer high levels of respiratory protection 
visors 
surgical gowns 
two pairs of gloves

However, the new advice recommends only :

a standard surgical face mask 
short gloves 
a plastic apron. 

Staff have dismissed this as "totally inadequate” protection and FFP3 masks and visors appear to be in particularly short supply.

Apart from their own fear of catching the disease because of poor protection, they fear that they could pass the infection on to other patients. Doctors who are dealing most closely with Covid-19 patients – A&E medics, anaesthetists and specialists in acute medicine and intensive care – are most worried. A doctor in an infectious diseases ward of a major hospital, who is treating patients with Covid-19, said : “I am terrified. I am seriously considering whether I can keep working as a doctor.”

Mr Nick Fletcher, a Consultant Anaesthetist and Intensive Care Specialist at St George’s Hospital in London, said : “There is a high death rate for medical first responders. If they don’t have the protective kit, this increases their risk of death. What we are going to have to use is likely not fit for purpose. There really needs to be a big effort to ensure PPE for medics and nurses is made an absolute priority.”

When the Government first mooted the idea of recruiting retired NHS doctors and nurses at the beginning of this month, the majority of 120 former NHS employees, who responded to a Guardian callout, were resistant and in some cases hostile, to the idea.

Many expressed concern that returning to work would put them at risk of contracting the disease and that their lack of recent practice could put patients at risk. Seventy-one said they would not be happy to return to work, with many expressing their reluctance in vehement terms. Many respondents said  they did not want to a return to a working environment where they suffered stress, bullying, burnout and even breakdowns. They were against returning to work to help tackle coronavirus, with many saying it would threaten their physical and mental health.

The Government confirmed contingency plans on Tuesday to call back to work NHS “leavers and retirees” to help relieve pressure on an NHS workforce that is expected to be overwhelmed by the virus.