A doctor has been barred from working at a Shropshire hospital after she accused it of being ‘dangerously lacking’ in its coronavirus response.
Dr Catherine Beanland claims Ludlow Community Hospital has been ‘very slow’ in its efforts to protect staff and isolate patients.
The GP says she was told to stop working after complaining about their response to Covid-19, and after wearing protective clothing that ‘frightened patients’.
Ludlow Community Hospital insists it has followed national guidelines, while guidance for health workers on PPE was expected to be updated within two days.
However, Dr Beanland has warned the hospital their response around PPE ‘and appropriate isolation of possible Covid-19 patients has been dangerously lacking’.
In a social media post, she revealed that she had taken to wearing the equipment to protect patients and stop her from catching the virus.
Dr Catherine Beanland (pictured) claims that Ludlow Community Hospital has been ‘very slow’ in its efforts to protect staff and isolate patients in the pandemic
The GP says she was told to stop working after complaining about their response to Covid-19, and after wearing protective clothing that ‘frightened patients’
Ludlow Community Hospital insists it has followed national guidelines, while guidance for health workers on PPE was expected to be updated within two days
Shropshire Community Trust hit back, claiming she was not following national guidance and ‘frightening both patients and staff’ by wearing it.
On Friday, the GP was told ‘to no longer provide patient care’ at the 40-bed hospital.
Dr Jane Povey, medical director at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, said staff had been reminded to stick to national guidelines on the use of PPE.
She said: ‘We must use PPE responsibly and cannot disregard those guidelines in one hospital and start applying a different policy.’
The row comes as 260 people who tested positive for the coronavirus died yesterday, bringing the number of those dying with Covid-19 to 1,019.
Prof Neil Ferguson, the Government’s epidemiology adviser, has warned that Britain must remain in lockdown until June to prevent the full extent of the virus.
He also told The Sunday Times that social distancing may have to be practiced until October, after Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock tested positive for Covid-19.
Prof Ferguson has revised his original warnings down from 250,000 deaths to 5,700 after Oxford University published research on the virus’ spread.
Prof Neil Ferguson, the Government’s epidemiology adviser, has warned that Britain must remain in lockdown until June to prevent the full extent of the virus
Michael Gove (left) declined to be drawn on how long the tough measures restricting people’s lives would be in place for, after Boris Johnson (right) tested positive for the virus
Oxford believes that half of the UK population may already have been infected with the disease, implying that a significant herd immunity has been accumulated.
It also suggests that less than one in 1,000 patients would require hospitalisation.
Prof Ferguson told the newspaper: ‘We’re going to have to keep these measures [the full lockdown] in place, in my view, for a significant period of time – probably until the end of May, maybe even early June. May is optimistic.’
It came as Michael Gove today declined to be drawn on how long the tough measures restricting people’s lives would be in place for, and that ministers would not hesitate to enforce tougher rules if necessary.
‘There are different projections as to how long the lockdown might last,’ he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, when asked about one key expert’s prediction of June.
‘But it’s not the case that the length of the lockdown is something that is absolutely fixed. It depends on all of our behaviour. If we follow the guidelines, we can deal more effectively with the spread of the disease.’
The PM has written to every household in Britain, urging the public to abide by his draconian lockdown and warning the ‘national emergency’ may get worse.
In other coronavirus developments across the country:
- Ministers and senior Downing Street officials have said China now faces a ‘reckoning’ over its handling of the outbreak and risks becoming a ‘pariah state’;
- Chancellor Rishi Sunak is the choice of voters to run the country if Boris Johnson becomes too ill, an exclusive poll for The Mail on Sunday has found;
- NHS workers began being tested for coronavirus at a drive-through testing station in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington;
- Photos revealed the inside of the ExCel centre in London which is being made into a temporary hospital with two wards, each for 2,000 people;
- The British Red Cross said evictions of asylum seekers from Government accommodation are to be halted amid fears about the disease;
- Humberside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and Avon and Somerset Police created ‘hotlines’ as police chiefs encouraged Britons to snitch on neighbours they suspect of breaching the lockdown rules;
- National director of the NHS, Stephen Powis, said 170 million masks, 25 million gloves and 30 million aprons have been delivered to medical staff fighting virus.