Former Welsh Health Minister Suggests NHS Personnel Potentially Used Inadequate PPE During Covid Pandemic Inquiry

A past Welsh health minister indicated that National Health Service (NHS) personnel might have attended to Covid patients with insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the pandemic. Vaughan Gething, who previously served as first minister and oversaw the health service from 2016 to 2021, appeared again before the Covid inquiry on Wednesday to provide testimony. Testimony at the inquiry revealed that initial supplies of PPE were depleted several weeks sooner than expected, necessitating the disposal of certain eyewear items. Gething stated that “Shysters” also identified an “unscrupulous business opportunity” by profiting from substandard equipment. The Welsh Conservatives commented that the presented evidence depicted “a picture of a completely unacceptable situation for NHS staff in Wales.” Plaid Cymru asserted that the frontline NHS was “significantly let down by the actions of the Labour Welsh government” at a time when “doctors and nurses were putting themselves at risk.” Additionally, First Minister Eluned Morgan testified at the inquiry, indicating that, given a second chance, she would have “definitely” taken earlier action to modify the guidelines concerning birthing partners visiting hospitals. An email originating from a consultant at Prince Charles Hospital on 24 March 2020, described “complete chaos at our hospital” alongside “no protection for nurses” and “very low morale.” The consultant further noted that masks were “not being released.” The inquiry was informed that a school produced masks and hand gel for a pharmacist, concurrently, trade unions reported that employees resorted to utilizing bin bags and purchasing their own goggles and even hair bands to secure ill-fitting face masks. Jacqueline Carey, counsel for the inquiry, questioned Gething on whether he acknowledged that during periods of the initial wave in 2020, “it appears healthcare workers in Wales treated Covid-19 patients with inadequate PPE, at potential risk for their own health?” He responded, “I’m afraid that’s possible, yes.” Gething held the position of health minister throughout the pandemic’s inaugural year, with his tenure concluding soon after the May 2021 Senedd election. He later served as first minister for a segment of 2024, until his resignation was compelled due to a dispute concerning political donations. Gething stated that although Wales did not experience a national depletion of supplies, there were “some very real challenges in distribution.” Ms Carey inquired of the former health minister, currently a backbencher, whether the Welsh NHS “didn’t have the right PPE, or didn’t have enough of the right PPE.” “I think there’s a bit of both,” Gething responded. He mentioned that certain eye protectors “were just not fit for purpose.” He added, “Some of them had to be destroyed, which is not at all comfortable, and that was from the pandemic stock.” These supplies were projected to last 15 weeks but were consumed significantly faster. Specifically, glove inventories were depleted in one and a half weeks. Gething remarked, “Once we got on top of gloves, aprons were a bigger issue,” noting that this challenge consumed a “significant portion of my time as a minister.” Gething also stated the presence of “an awful lot of shysters who were trying to make money out of inadequate equipment.” He elaborated, “The whole world wanted more, and some people saw that as an unscrupulous business opportunity.” The inquiry session additionally examined allegations that certain Covid patients were not admitted to critical care. A medical professional had informed inquiry researchers that insufficient capacity existed to provide individuals with a very slim chance of recovery “a go.” The doctor explained: “We knew it wouldn’t help because we had come to see what kind of people died of this disease despite escalated care. So we decided not to admit to critical care, whereas had they had a different illness they probably would have been more likely to benefit so we would have escalated.” Gething described the instance as “very upsetting to read.” He acknowledged awareness that “heart-breaking choices were being made,” but stated he had not been informed of that particular claim. First Minister Eluned Morgan informed the inquiry that, “if I had my time again,” she would “definitely” have taken earlier steps to alter the guidelines regarding birthing partners visiting hospitals. Morgan took over from Gething as health minister in May 2021, serving in that capacity until she assumed the role of first minister in August. The directive was revised on 9 May 2022, reclassifying birthing partners as partners in care instead of visitors. This change occurred over a year subsequent to the same distinction being implemented in England. Eluned Morgan stated she “took too long” to amend Welsh guidance, remarking: “If I had my time again… that’s one of the things I definitely would have changed.” She commented: “I think it’s a magical time for parents, and you need to allow them to be parents as soon as they can, irrespective of the circumstances.“So although we may have been doing it for what we thought were the right reasons, there’s a price that they’ve paid that they’ll never get back.” During her testimony, the first minister defended the choice against conducting a national inquiry into infections acquired in hospitals. Providing evidence on Wednesday afternoon, Morgan stated that over 18,630 distinct cases were examined by health boards, asserting that they “could not have been more thorough.” She explained that isolating a single cause was challenging due to “lots of causes.” Morgan was questioned on whether the prospect of health boards potentially encountering civil claims from patients and their families, amounting to as much as £69m, played a role. She responded that it was “not a focus of mine,” indicating their primary emphasis was on deriving lessons. Morgan acknowledged that the resumption of routine surgical procedures might have been scheduled sooner. However, she expressed doubt regarding its feasibility of implementation, considering the strain on the systems. She further informed the inquiry that during an unscheduled visit to an orthopaedic hub, she discovered 13 surgeons were not present at work. She stated, “They weren’t there,” adding, “So, the monitoring, the management was not happening in the way that it should have been happening.” She asserted that individuals needed to be held accountable and that she did not obtain a satisfactory explanation. Subsequently, she initiated measures to emphasize that “things had to change.” Morgan also noted that private healthcare offered limited capacity to address the backlog, with merely 172 private beds accessible. A portion of these were utilized, as were private beds located across the border in England. The circumstances within NHS England differed, where 18% of their backlog was successfully addressed through the engagement of the private sector. Gething indicated he was ready to “quite possibly” concede that he could have acted sooner in establishing a group in May 2020 to address hospital-acquired infections. By the conclusion of March, a cluster outbreak had occurred within the Aneurin Bevan health board in south east Wales. By November 2020, during the initial weeks of the second wave, 3.5% of patients were contracting infections weekly. A specific health board documented that 24% of its staff had Covid. Gething emphasized the difficulties posed by the more contagious Covid variant that emerged from February 2021. Nevertheless, he stated there was “no sugar coating that the situation got worse and real harm was caused.” Additional reporting was provided by Cemlyn Davies. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.