The Cost of Neglect: High Fatality Rates in Countries without Proper PPE Usage
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of healthcare workers having access to proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Even before the pandemic, in many countries around the world, frontline medical staff have been forced to work without adequate PPE, putting themselves and their patients at severe risk. This neglect has come at a heavy cost, with significantly higher rates of infection, severe illness, and death among healthcare workers in countries that failed to supply proper protective gear.
Increased Risk of Infection
Studies across multiple countries have shown that limited PPE leads to dramatically higher COVID-19 infection rates among medical personnel. A cross-country analysis of six nations – the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United States – found that frontline healthcare workers faced a 3 to 4 times greater chance of contracting the virus in areas with inadequate PPE supplies. In the UK, this manifested as high hospital outbreaks early in the pandemic, before PPE guidance and supplies were increased.
Severe Health Outcomes
Beyond increased infections, the lack of PPE also led to more severe health outcomes for medical personnel once infected. Studies found that healthcare workers in PPE-deficient areas were over five times more likely to be hospitalised if they contracted COVID-19. They also faced higher risks of admission into intensive care units and the need for ventilator support.
Tragically, this also translated into higher death rates among medical staff in countries that failed to provide adequate protective equipment. Through August 2021, over 3,600 healthcare workers lost their lives to COVID-19 in the UK alone.
Mental Health Strain
In addition to physical health impacts, the lack of PPE took a tremendous mental health toll on healthcare professionals as well. Surveys throughout the pandemic indicated high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout among medical workers, especially related to fears over inadequate PPE supplies.
In one UK study, 65% of healthcare workers reported feeling anxious about having to reuse or improvise PPE due to shortages. Another 45% said they felt inadequately protected on the job. Coping with the emotional weight of treating COVID-19 patients, while facing one’s own vulnerability, created lasting mental health challenges that could lead to future workforce shortages.
Reliance on Improvised PPE
During the pandemic, with supplies of masks, gloves, and gowns in short supply around the world, many healthcare workers had to find creative ways to compensate. This ranged from reusing disposable equipment to fashioning makeshift PPE out of whatever materials were on hand. While these solutions offered some last line of defence, they still left many frontline staff feeling exposed and unprotected.
Impact on Patient Care
The lack of PPE did not just affect healthcare workers themselves. It also had implications for the level of care they could provide to patients. Medical staff reported that without proper protection, they sometimes had to limit hands-on interactions with COVID-19 patients to reduce exposure risks. While this may have prevented some hospital-acquired infections, it also led to reduced quality of care in some instances.
The experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic have clearly demonstrated that healthcare workers in the UK and around the world need reliable access to proper PPE in order to stay safe and deliver the best care possible. When frontline medical staff are forced to work without adequate protective equipment, it puts their own health and lives at risk and reduces the quality of care for patients.