An inability to access adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) remains the chief concern for GPs across Australia. That’s coming directly from the RACGP. We’re being told that millions of masks are on the way, but we don’t know what kind of masks.

In WA, the Director-General of WA Health has revealed the numbers on PPE, after requests were made by doctors. Vitally, they have broken down the exact numbers of surgical masks VS N95 masks, as well as gown and glove numbers, and disclosed how many weeks worth of PPE there are at hand.

This is the kind of transparency we desperately need from other states. Healthcare workers know that PPE stocks are running low. We hear from politicians that “masks are on the way”, either from overseas or manufactured here in Australia.

We need more than political spin. We need figures. Healthcare workers on the frontline of this crisis are putting their lives at risk. We know we can’t entirely eliminate that risk at work but we need to know that we’re doing all we can to reduce the risk of us bringing this virus home to our families.

Meanwhile, have a read of this troubling story out of the US where healthcare workers are being prevented from speaking out about the PPE shortage.

Are you an Australian healthcare worker who is willing/able to speak publicly about the PPE shortages you are seeing in your workplace? Contact ppepetition@gmail.com if you are.

For everyone else, please keep sharing this petition. We’re nearly at 150,000 signatures which is a massive achievement. Thank you for supporting healthcare workers as we take care of us all.

Click here to share this petition.

Change.org/HealthcareWorkers