As reported by Claire Meadows on the Society of Editors website:
The front page of Tuesday’s (14 April) edition of the Daily Mirror carries the faces of 35 NHS workers that have lost their lives to coronavirus under the headline of ‘No More’. The campaign says that the Mirror “demands more protective equipment for NHS to prevent further lost lives”.
Launching the campaign, the paper said that the heroes and heroines of the NHS are the pride of the country and it is incomprehensible that they still do not have the kit they need.
Alongside calling on the government to ensure all frontline NHS staff get protective kit as a matter of urgency, the title is also calling for an end to what it refers to as the “postcode lottery of supply to ensure carers, cleaners and other key workers have access to PPE”. Other key demands include a national effort by UK manufacturers to produce essential equipment and the appointment of a minister with special responsibility for PPE and to oversee the supply chain.
Calling on the government to do more, it said: “For all the wild promises by ministers there is still a woeful shortage of personal protection equipment. Stories from those working in our hospitals, clinics and care homes should shame the Government.
“Doctors and nurses are putting their lives in danger every day because they do not have enough masks, gowns, gloves and goggles.
“Many are having to pay for their own equipment or are having to re-use existing kit. Others have resorted to fashioning make-shift gowns from bin liners.
“Essential PPE should not be a luxury that needs rationing. It should be a basic right of anyone working in our health service at this crucial time.
“This is especially the case when so few frontline workers have been tested so far.”
Calling on the public not to forget “the brave NHS workers who have lost their lives to the coronavirus”, the title said that adequate PPE could have saved lives.
It wrote: “When the nation needed their dedication, kindness and expertise, they answered that call and, in doing so, paid the highest of prices.
“These were not just the very best of the health service. They were loved ones, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.
“And many of them would be alive today if they had been provided with the proper kit.”
