Responding to the latest PPE guidance published by Public Health England (PHE), Professor Michael Griffin OBE, President of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
“We are deeply concerned about this latest change to the PPE guidance as it has been developed and published without the explicit support of medical Royal Colleges. There is a significant risk that this will cause confusion and anxiety for our front line surgeons and doctors.
Asking front line staff to reuse equipment or work without full length gowns puts clinicians and patients at risk particularly in surgical settings. Moreover, the guidance suggests that surgeons and their teams can operate without appropriate PPE. We can appreciate that waterproof gowns that can be laundered may still be available in many operating theatres, however surgeons who cannot access fluid repellent gowns or coveralls should not put themselves, their teams or their patients at risk.
We wish to make it clear that The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was not involved in the production of this guidance and requests further clarification. It is imperative that appropriate PPE is sourced and made available to the extended surgical team to ensure that those who still require important emergency, cancer and trauma surgical care, now and in the immediate future,e are able to be treated safely and expediently.”