North Lanarkshire Council care workers raise safety fears over lack of protective equipment

The workers have been seeking additional Personal Protective Equipment to help prevent catching the virus themselves, or spreading it among their families and vulnerable, elderly clients. One said she felt she needed to be “suited and booted” to work safely.

A staff member said: “Myself and my colleagues are desperate for help in getting us PPE to wear. We only have gloves and sanitizer – no masks, no aprons and no idea when we will will get these. We are going into the homes of elderly service users with nothing to protect us or them. We are pleading with bosses to get us protection.”

Another said: “It’s a very worrying situation. These women feel like they could be the grim reapers carrying covid-19 from home to home and feel their duty of care to the vulnerable is being ignored.

“South Lanarkshire Council workers have been purchasing and wearing their own PPE so we know the supplies are still available to be procured.”

Although the workers received text messages informing them the council was following health guidelines, which only required them to have liquid resistant face masks, this did little to alleviate their worries.

One worker said: “It feels like we’re expected to play Russian roulette. I’m so angry about this I’ve been hyperventilating.”

A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “These are extremely challenging times and we are working to ensure that all staff are complying with advice from Health Protection Scotland.

“Additional PPE equipment has been ordered and is arriving daily. We are grateful for the support we are receiving from communities and cannot thank our dedicated staff enough for everything they are doing to help and care for some of the most vulnerable people in our area.”