AT LEAST 100 health and care workers have died of coronavirus, a nursing website has declared.
Consternation over the health care death toll has come amid growing concerns about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for those working on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nursing Notes, a website, run by nurses for nurses, declared what they consider to be the real death toll saying official figures suggest there have been just 27 deaths of NHS staff due to Covid-19.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers complain that a lack of adequate kit such as gowns, masks and gloves puts them at increased risk of catching coronavirus and of spreading it to their patients.
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It reported: "As of this afternoon, that number has surpassed 100 – although the true figure is likely to be higher as not all deaths are in the public domain. That figure includes staff from a wide range of roles including; doctors, nurses, allied healthcare professionals, social care workers, ancillary staff and students.
"Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities have been disproportionately affected, accounting for around 75% of deaths while only making up around 20% of the healthcare workforce.
"In contrast, the latest Government figures suggest there have been just 27 deaths of NHS staff due to COVID-19 during the pandemic."
The website has been recording all deaths since the outbreak began, verifying all the information they receive using a number of independent sources and permissions sought from family, friends or colleagues.
On April 8 it was announced that a nurse has become the first NHS worker in Scotland to die from coronavirus.
Janice Graham was a health care support worker and district nurse from Inverclyde and sadly passed away on April 6 at Inverclyde Royal Hospital after contracting the deadly bug.
The 58-year-old was described as having a "razor sharp wit" and will be sorely missed.
Louise Long, chief officer of Inverclyde Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We are saddened to confirm a member of staff has passed away due to Covid-19.
Britain may hold a minute's silence next week to pay tribute to NHS workers who have died with coronavirus.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said government was actively looking at the idea, proposed by health unions Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives.
It could be on 28 April, International Workers' Memorial Day, two days before the weekly Clap For Our Carers event.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Donna Kinnair said: "We've become used to hearing a great roar on a Thursday night for key workers but this respectful silence will be a poignant reminder of the risks they run to keep us safe.
"I hope the public gets behind this with the same affection they show when applauding our people."
The children of Josiane Ekoli, a nurse from Leeds who died after contracting the disease, said on Monday that her death could have been prevented "if they gave my mum the proper equipment in the first place".
And Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the daily No 10 briefing the government was working "around the clock" to address the lack of protective gear for front line health care staff.
An RAF aircraft is said to have departed the UK for Turkey to pick up a delayed delivery of protective kit amid a row over a shortage in the NHS.
The plane left at around 5pm on Monday to collect 400,000 gowns.
It comes as another 449 coronavirus deaths were recorded in UK hospitals, taking the total number to 16,509.
But the number of new confirmed infections was "flattening out", the UK's deputy chief scientific adviser, Prof Dame Angela Maclean, told the briefing.
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