This is an URGENT appeal for funding to support with purchasing PPE for Torbay and South Devon Community Care Providers.

Collectively we are providing over 8,000 hours of care per week to vulnerable patients in the community. The average visit is 30 mins which means that we require 16,000 masks per week and 192,000 over a 12 week lockdown. We have limited stock of basic PPE and we are having to fund higher rates to get basic supplies.

Care workers are not provided with Face masks to visit their clients. Facemasks are only issued if a patient has a confirmed case of Covid-19 and by this point may have already resulted in the spread to so many other people, people who visit other vulnerable clients. Providers do not agree with this policy and would like to provide all community staff with a protective face masks for every care visit that they attend. This will prevent patients and staff members spreading the virus from people who are showing no signs or symptoms to vulnerable members of the community who WILL DIE.

These amazing front line staff are not being protected enough and the only way we can fund the use of masks on each visit will be with the support from the community.

Care companies WILL CLOSE if we don't protect our staff better as staffing levels will deplete and cash will deplete. More patients are being discharged from hospital with no testing and then front line staff are being exposed to the virus without the correct PPE. This has already happened. VULNERABLE members of the community have INFECTED CARE WORKERS. This results in severe damage to staffing levels meaning the vulnerable members of our community will not receive care causing a RISK TO LIFE, a risk to the vulnerable clients causing RISK TO LIFE, and a risk to the households of all of these people who then have the potential to spread the virus and cause a RISK TO LIFE. These risks have already occurred, and the events mentioned have ALREADY HAPPENED.

There are supplies of these masks available if purchased in the right volumes and together the providers and the community can protect our frontline staff and reduce the risk of the virus spreading if we use the correct PPE.

We have seen many appeals for donations of PPE and these have been well received, but we need larger volumes to be able to protect the community over the next 3 months.

The urgent supplies needed are Masks, Disposable Gloves, Aprons, Eye Goggles, Overshoes and also Sanitising Gel.

Please help to stop the spread of Coronavirus, our carers need your support.