Dear Camden NHS workers,
We are writing to you on behalf of UNISON members in Camden Council – we represent social workers and care workers, school staff, library workers, housing workers and many more, most of whom are part of the fight against the spread of coronavirus and providing services and support to vulnerable members of our community. However, you are all in the front line of that fight, and we want to offer our solidarity and support to you. Many of our members have taken part in the ‘Clap for our Carers’ events the last two weeks, but we want and need to do more.
As a trade union branch, we are committed to the NHS and its invaluable workforce, even more so as we all face the threat of COVID-19 and the devastation it is causing to our community. We are particularly concerned to hear that many NHS staff in hospitals are still not receiving proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to both protect them and ultimately us from infection. There also appears to be a lack of clear guidance on its most effective use. In addition, all reports we hear are that there is still very little testing of NHS staff to see if they are able to work safely.
We believe that it is essential the government urgently increases the supply of PPE in hospitals and for social care, and ensure that staff are trained in safely using it. We also believe that mass testing, starting with all NHS staff from cleaner to consultant, is an urgent priority. We will be campaigning for this, but please let us know if there are other things we can raise for you.
Again, thank you for all that you do,
Liz Wheatley (Branch Secretary) and Phoebe Watkins (Branch Chair)
On behalf of Camden UNISON