Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff.
Conclusion
The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff. The Department set up a daily process for gathering information about the PPE required by local organisations and maintains that its formal reporting arrangements did not identify any provider organisation, in health or social care, as having run out of PPE. Despite this, Care England is clear that some social care providers did run out of PPE, and representative organisations’ surveys showed staff reported PPE shortages. In a survey by the Royal College of Nursing many nurses reported being asked to reuse single-use items of PPE. Frontline staff found the multiple iterations of guidance confusing and were concerned that the guidance did not specify a high enough level of PPE to properly protect them. Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff were more likely to report experiencing PPE shortages, feeling pressured to work without adequate protection, and not being fit tested for respirator masks. A third of BAME doctors reported experiencing PPE shortages compared with 14% of white doctors, Similarly, almost half of BAME nurses said that they had not been fit tested for respirator masks compared with 74% of white nurses. By October 2020, employers had reported 126 deaths and 8,152 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 among health and care workers as being linked to occupational exposure. The Department asserts that there is no evidence that these deaths were caused by PPE shortages, but confirmed that medical examiners will fully investigate the death of all staff within trusts to determine whether this has been the result of occupational exposure to the virus. Recommendation: The Department needs to better understand the experience of frontline staff during the first wave of the pandemic, and ensure lessons are learned so it can better respond in a future emergency. It should particularly focus on the different reported experiences of staff from different ethnic backgro
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.1 The government agrees with the recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2021 5.2 The government is committed to learning from the experience of frontline staff during the pandemic and the views and experiences of frontline workers are vital in shaping the programme. 5.3 While the government’s rapid action ensured there was never a point at which a trust stocked-out, the department acknowledges the evidence from front-line workers that was presented in the National Audit Office (NAO) report. 5.4 The department has factored this evidence into the programme of engagement with customer groups and users of PPE and continues to invite feedback about user needs at weekly Customer Engagement Group meetings with representatives from Adult Social Care and the NHS. Understanding of the requirements of people with protected characteristics has improved and the department is increasing the range of available options to provide solutions that address the needs of individuals. 5.5 There are mechanisms in place to investigate the deaths of health and care workers which involve coroners and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Medical examiners also have a role in scrutinising deaths of NHS health and social care workers of COVID-19. HSE is currently investigating COVID-19 work-related deaths, many of which have been reported by the health care sector. HSE recognises any lessons coming out of its investigations will need to be shared with employers, trade unions, professional bodies, central, local and devolved governments, as well as other key organisations. 5.6 The department is considering options for gaining further qualitative insights into the experience of frontline health and care workers in the use of PPE. The recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report published on 31 March 2021 will be taken into consideration as part of this work and an update will provided to the Committee in due course.