Getting the right equipment and part of the problem is some of the messaging from Public Health England, which changed about sort of what type of masks you need in which type of wards.

And it's led to a degree of confusion.

But the fact is they do not think they're getting enough equipment in there to protect them now.

Today we received an audio message from a consultant on the front line.

Their words have Bean re voiced to protect their anonymity.

I'm recording this because I'm incredibly, incredibly concerned.

I'm a doctor on the front line of one of the major hospitals in London and we're now accepting multiple patients.

Her Cove it positive.

Unfortunately, despite much planning, an attempt to try and get ourselves ready for dealing with these patients and protecting ourselves and our health care workers as we try and manage, these patients were having lots and lots of difficulty sourcing the right equipment.

We have staff on Cove it wards who've been seeing covert patients who are entirely unprotected.

They did not have the right equipment and they're being told by senior management that that's okay.

We keep trying to get people at a higher level to listen to us and we're being told that there are supplies.

But the supplies never reached the front line and I hear this from multiple hospitals all over the country.

So this is a crisis and this is one that needs to be addressed by the government and we need to have the right protective equipment, our star for scared.

They're panicked.

We have multiple members of staff who are already unwell and leaving the rotor.

We're having to purchase equipment ourselves and we're receiving many, many mixed messages as to what's important to us in terms of protecting us.

That is really, really upsetting to hear that and, um, there is also the issue off testing and again we heard Matt Hancock, the health secretary, talking about this, but the fact is is it's still only being done on the critically ill.

Those who are have pneumonia or who are suspected of having pneumonia, who are being admitted to hospital and the third category is for care homes because they've always thought there might be clusters there.

Yet today on the South Coast, we have learned of one care home where the disease appears to have spread because the testing was too slow.

There are 20 residents at this Oakland's nursing home and hope of 14 and now showing symptoms of covered 19 along with seven off the 28 staff.

But we have now learned that it took 10 days for Public Health England to test anybody.

I don't know because no other tests have been confirmed yet, but the point is that these are elderly, these are vulnerable people, and it should never, ever say 10 day used to get the test done in the first place, and now they're still waiting for the results.

We also understand the manager of the home is asked for hospital style personal protection equipment P p e.

But has been told they're being kept four hospitals.

The system should have responded in a way that could have actually avoided this intellect situation spreading within one cam.

Oh, it really shows that the moment that we have to up our game if we're gonna get it right to the most vulnerable.

We asked Public Health England why it took so long to test but have not yet had a response.

We have a simple message for all countries.

Test test test 50,000 tests have been carried out in the UK so far and the plan is to increase this to 25,000 daily.

Currently, it's 1/5 of that, but no healthcare workers are being tested nor the general population.

Public health England is asking for submissions to evaluate self testing kits similar to this for reliability, but they have not told us when or how this is happening.

Yet Spain has now imported 640,000 testing kits from China and South Korea.

We have seen letters now from N HS consultants and leading epidemiologists to the Department of Health and to the UK government asking for this general population testing toe happen here now uses and so ends the machines.

Stop what he's doing just a little ways quite a short time about these tests.

At the same time, you have put out a piece of instructions with British biotech industry to usually agents that you needed a sauce Is it possible?

A nd adjusting very easily produced with able choose and put a bullet to the chest swab tests like the one Professor Peto was talking about here, which are reliable or self testing kits using blood samples.

Either way, there is an urgency to this, and the Financial Times today reported that the U.

K government is and talks with the likes of admits and to deliver any kits to homes and healthcare staff when they are available for those who are most vulnerable.

Text messages went out today telling them that they now need to remain inside for 12 weeks.

They can open a window but not leave home, and they must stay three steps away from other people.

And there was this stark video released by the Belfast Trust.

This is the crucial time.

This is not a rehearsal.

You will only have one chance at this stay at home.

The concern is not just for overwhelmed hospitals, but for the patients and the staff.

When are following government guidelines.

I am practicing social distancing on dhe.

I'm working from home now.

A short time ago, I spoke to Dr Jenny Born, a leading member of the doctor's association, who have written to the government to demand better personal protective equipment for medical staff.

So I started by asking her whether the P P E equipment promised by the government was actually starting to reach the medical staff on the front line on what kinds of problems medical personnel had bean in country, there have been stories off doctors and paramedics having to go to screw fix one of our local retailers to find themselves masks on dhe.

You know, these the kind of things that shouldn't be happening in highly.

They're all very highly stressed at the moment, as you can imagine, John.

So I am very.

That's why we felt the need to to write this letter.

Over 8000 frontline doctors have signed it, and senior doctors and medical directors have signed it.

We felt that this neat, we needed to re emphasize to Boris that this should be his number one priority because if you can't look after the front line, the health front line, then then everything is compromising the system and we must keep them going as a priority.

Dr.

Vaughn, the other issue that has been raised is are these masks?

Is this p p.

E.

Actually up to snuff?

Is it what is required?

Well, that's a very good question, John, because it's been a source of confusion because up until two weeks ago, people were gunning up than they were wearing visors, and they had a what appeared to them to be greater protection.

They also look around the world, and they look at the who guidelines.

And there seems to be a bit of a significant discordance between being asked to wear a surgical mask, an apron and a pair of gloves on dhe, a visor and a full gang.

Now the advice seemed to have changed, and they're saying, No, no, it's perfectly all right.

To where?

Just a surgical mask in an apron.

Unless you are doing what we call a Rose soul generating procedures.

So you're actually, you know, high risk of exposure to the respiratory droplets.

Now we are, we would like urgent clarification.

When are the other big issue?

Is tests on the question is a whether there's enough equipment to test people, be whether there's enough testing going on anyway.

I mean, aren't too many patients coming through the hospital system on dhe, never actually knowing whether they had it or they didn't.

We understand that their complex testing, but what we're looking at here, John, is that on the front line we have two main problems.

If you have symptoms in your doctor or a nurse, and you have to go off work and wait for test, you are actually not being able to look after patients, and you could be infecting your family.

You want to know as soon as possible that that test is negative so that you can get off.

Get back to the front line.

If it's positive you want to take the right precautions and not infect your family.

Doctors of families There are stories from the front line off doctors living in mobile homes at the moment or living in there yet living in mobile homes because they don't get they want.

They're the ones who are looking after covert patients every day, and they don't want to infect their families.

There is an extraordinary amount of sacrifice here.

All we're asking the government to do is given absolute priority to health care workers in this testing and get it to them so that we can.

They can know either way for the sake of their families and for the sake of their patient.

Because, of course, it's a patient safety issue as well.

Dr.

Jenny born off the doctor's association, talking to me earlier from Westminster.

Well, now we want to keep you regularly informed with all the facts that you need about the various.

So here's a reminder of what covert 19 is and how it might affect you.

Like many respiratory viruses covered, 19 is spread by tiny droplets that come from the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.

As doctors and scientists study exactly how the virus behaves, here is a short guide on the symptoms to look out for.

We know that most patients get a fever.

The N H is s advice is that you don't need to take your temperature.

Just being hot to the touch on your chest or back is a symptom, a new and continuous cough and shortness of breath.

A few people get diarrhea, nausea or a runny nose.

There's also evidence from around the world that a significant number of patients experience a loss of smell or taste, even in mild cases and where people don't show other signs of the virus.

Well.

Amid the rising concern about society's most vulnerable food banks of our supermarkets to set aside supplies, including online delivery slots for charities, some stores have already donated millions of pounds to food bank charities like Fair Share and the Trussell Trust.

But how are people reliant on such essential help managing to cope so far?

Our home affairs correspondent Darkness Sonny, reports, so usually a ll off.

This would be full with tinned items and dried goods.

There's no more than about 20 food parcels stock in the food bank.

We've got 32 referrals to do such, and Mohammed is desperately trying to keep his food bank open.

He founded it nearly a decade ago and, along with his volunteers, has helped hundreds of people across Nottingham.

But the Corona virus outbreak has seen donations dwindle.

What we've seen over the last 14 days is people hoarding food.

I'm not donating by not having the food is giving me anxiety.

The staff volunteers, knowing that they could be 50 families within this neighborhood starving because they haven't got any food.

The food bank is in an area called Hyson Green, a busy, bustling community but also the eighth most deprived area in the country, more than half of all Children in this ward.

A living in poverty.

This crisis has brought inequality into sharp focus on there's likely to be a huge impact on hunger.

Around 14 million Britons are living in poverty.

Half of them are in work and yet their jobs and most at risk.

Already, many have been told to take unpaid leave to reduce their hours or have even been laid off together, making them more vulnerable.

You'd be amazed, rich, with which people are using the food bank.

You know all different backgrounds, different educational levels but just hit crisis in their lives.

And as more and more people are likely to hit crisis, the pandemic has exposed the fragility of our welfare system.

It could be financial going on to universal credit.

For those who find themselves on universal credit, they're still a five week wait, something food bank providers want the government to scrap.

Chris, we're outside on the main door.

Can you come here?

And electric, please.

That's how Kris Bailey ended up relying on donations while important, recently died July last year.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

Yeah, well, because I had to downsize because I couldn't afford the rent.

Then I went on to universal credit, and that's where the problem began.

Chris had Bean working in catering until he stopped to nurse his wife through her cancer.

In the last few days, he's watched on as people have stripped supplies from the local shops.

When you see it, uh, well, I think I wish I could do that myself, but obviously I can't.

It's actually alive saving like a food day.

Really.

The government says it has announced measures to strengthen the safety net for people in these unparalleled times, including a £500 million hardship fund for local councils.

For Sajid Mohammed, there's a moral responsibility for us all to look out for those most in need.

When I see people stockpiling, I get very angry and upset because I know that means a child on elderly person is probably going to go hungry.

A number of food banks have already taken the difficult decision to close their doors in West Yorkshire.

The police were investigating after this food bank was broken into its shelves, stripped bare of everything, including the toilet roll.

Mr.

Mohammed and his team hope to carry on for as long as possible.

Keeping faith that these are uncertain times will bring out the best in our behavior as well as the worst we all need to work together on.

Just think about our actions.

Think about the consequences.

If we allow work together, there'll be plenty of food for everyone.