Ask the British people to give their unused face masks to the NHS

What the petition asks

There is a national NHS shortage of FFP-3 masks. Provide a system for rapid retrieval of unused masks to the NHS to save the lives of frontline health care workers - without whom the provision of life saving care during the epidemic will fail.

Critical care health care workers will soon face an impossible choice. Shortage of FFP-3 masks will soon require health care workers to provide life saving treatment to Covid-19 patients without adequate protection risking their lives in the process.

Initiating life support is a high exposure process and requires an FFP-3 mask for all health care workers involved. Many of the the public will have purchased these masks. They do not require them if they stay at home and follow guidance.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Provide adequate PPE equipment for medical professionals working with COVID-19

Advice on the use of personal protective equipment is a matter for Public Health England, not the Government or Parliament.

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

17 Mar 2020	Petition opened for signatures
31 Mar 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Ask the British people to give their unused face masks to the NHS - #protectus