Midwife expresses lasting anger over UK government’s pandemic PPE handling
8 reported
A midwife named Laura Matthews has written a letter expressing ongoing anger about the UK government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically referencing a recent inquiry finding that the Johnson government wasted £10bn on PPE. Matthews recounts personal experiences from her frontline work, including being fitted for an FFP3 mask but then told there were not enough and given a basic paper mask instead. She also describes being told her hospital could not keep providing clean scrubs, forcing her to take potentially infected scrubs home to wash. Matthews recalls management shutting down computers to enforce social distancing, then reopening them when staff needed them to do their jobs. She remembers being sent into homes where people had Covid to see new mothers and babies, wondering if she would die as a result. Matthews notes that she did not receive a bonus and was not paid particularly well, and says the waste of money makes her reluctant to trust any government again.
What’s reported
Laura Matthews is a midwife who worked during the pandemic.
A recent Covid inquiry found the Johnson government wasted £10bn on PPE.
Matthews was fitted for an FFP3 mask but then told there were not enough and given a basic paper mask.
Her hospital stopped providing clean scrubs, so she had to take potentially infected scrubs home to wash.
Management shut down computers to enforce social distancing, then reopened them when staff needed them.
Matthews was sent into homes with Covid patients to see new mothers and babies.
She did not receive a bonus and was not paid particularly well.
Matthews says the waste makes her reluctant to trust any government again.
Key figures
Laura Matthews, midwife and letter writer
Boris Johnson, former prime minister (mentioned as head of government during pandemic)
Sources: The Guardian
