Concerns have been raised about the amount of personal protective equipment available to staff working across the sector, with suggestions that there is not enough to go around.
However, at a Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel hearing, Health Minister Richard Renouf insisted that stocks were sufficient and more equipment was being sourced all the time, despite the global demand for it.
He said: ‘I understand people’s views on this and they want to maximise protection.
‘We have come across people using PPE, or additional PPE than they need to, and that is not necessary.
‘This is a scarcity situation and that is not right.’
Scrutineers spent almost two hours questioning Deputy Renouf and his team yesterday about the medical response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister added that testing was taking place within care homes and from next week 120 tests a day would be carried out. As well as testing taking place in Jersey, there are also tests being sent to the UK.
Steve Skelton, director of Strategy and Innovation, also gave assurances about the accuracy of 150,000 antibody testing kits which the government had purchased, after concerns were raised about the accuracy of similar kits ordered by the UK.
He said the kits had been certified by a number of organisations and that three types of accuracy testing were taking place before they would be rolled out.
‘We did due diligence when buying them and they were a higher level,’ he said. ‘On the Island we will be using samples of positive and negative tests already done, and testing them with the antibody kits to see if they come up with the same result again.
‘And there are also a number of trials going in the UK to further validate these tests.
‘We are around two weeks behind other countries so that has given us the chance to make sure we get higher-quality kits.’
Questions were raised about the mental health of staff working on the front line, with politicians told 900 wellbeing checks had been conducted in three weeks.
