Six in 10 NHS doctors facing shortage of scrubs, shows UK survey

Dozens of hospitals are running short of scrubs in the latest problem to hit the NHS over the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.

The shortages are revealed in a survey of UK doctors undertaken by the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), which found that 61% said that the hospital where they worked was facing a shortage of scrubs.

In recent months, many more NHS staff have begun wearing scrubs, which are usually used mainly by surgical staff, to protect themselves against Covid-19. The prevalence of coronavirus in hospitals has prompted many to switch from wearing their own clothes at work to using scrubs, and handing them in to be washed at the end of their shift.

However, the big increase in demand for scrubs from doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists has left many hospitals unable to keep up and also put unprecedented pressure on hospital cleaning services.

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Some staff have even worn pyjamas intended for patients when scrubs have run out.

“Six in 10 doctors responding to our survey said that they had no access to scrubs at their place of work. In addition to personal protective equipment, the provision of scrubs for healthcare workers is vital to ensuring that they don’t take the infection home with them,” said Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, the president of the DAUK.

Shortages are so common that some medics have resorted to buying their own scrubs, which could risk spreading the virus, she added. “This is far from ideal as laundering this clothing involves transporting potentially contaminated clothing home.

“Protective clothing must be considered to be at a par with other PPE by Public Health England and must be provided to staff by the NHS.”

She added: “A failure to adequately supply scrubs to staff may risk further community spread of Covid-19.”

Among the 638 doctors who took part in the survey, some doctors were risking spreading the infection by washing their own scrubs, the survey found. One said: “I’m wearing my own scrubs, taking them home and washing them.” Another said: “We were told to bring our own scrubs and wash them at home.”

Related: Government ignored warning to stockpile PPE as Covid-19 spread

Many hospitals have received extra scrubs made and donated by local volunteers. Another medic said: “The local guild of seamstresses is producing hundreds a week.” Another added: “We were short and got loads donated by neighbours, schools, local sewing bees and even the English National Opera.”

A newly formed charity, the Scrub and Face Protection Hub, has started supplying scrubs and other PPE, such as visors and masks, to what has quickly grown to 25 hospitals. That usually follows a request from staff in the hospital’s A&E or intensive care unit.

It says it has had numerous requests for scrubs during the pandemic and also given sets to GP surgeries, hospices and care homes. It either buys scrubs or has them made, often as a result of its recent partnership with Liverpool Ladies Sewing Club.

“The most worrying is the requests we’ve had from the very frontline, including ICUs, A&E and anaesthetists. All of the demand has shown concerning shortages,” said Megan Phillips, a lawyer who is one of the volunteers running the charity.

“Frontline workers are really concerned about wearing their own clothing as they don’t have enough protective equipment to go over the top of it. Staff tend to put on scrubs instead of their own clothing for shifts, something they wouldn’t have done pre-Covid, which they can remove at the end of their shift and then put back on their own clothing and wash scrubs themselves,” she added.

The NHS denied there were shortages. An NHS Supply Chain spokeswoman said: “NHS Supply Chain’s suppliers have sufficient supplies of scrubs for our NHS customers to order.

“We’re working closely with our suppliers to manage stock levels of all products in our catalogue to help ensure that the NHS has the supplies it needs to deliver patient care.”