LONDON - Two British doctors who have been exposed to Covid-19 patients have launched a legal challenge against the government over what they say is a lack of protective kit and unclear guidance on when and how it should be used.
Lawyers for the two doctors, a husband and wife who are expecting a child, wrote to Health Minister Matt Hancock on Thursday to demand an urgent review of the official PPE guidance and to complain about how the kit was being sourced. Viz is a clinical fellow in medicine and Joshi is a trainee general practitioner. Both are employed by the state-run National Health Service . So far, 69 people working for the NHS have died of Covid-19.
They want the guidance be amended to make it consistent with WHO standards, to explain the risks associated with the use of different types of PPE, and to clarify the right of staff to refuse to work where they consider PPE to be inadequate.The health ministry could not be reached by phone and did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.