A million masks available for GPs who need them, claims Greg Hunt
He says GPs 'may not have realised' that primary health networks have supplies
Masks for GPs conducting coronavirus testing are not in short supply, although some doctors “may not have realised” stocks are available through PHNs, Minister for Health Greg Hunt says.
Almost 90% of GPs responding to an Australian Doctor survey last week reported they lacked appropriate PPE to safely take swabs from patients suspected to have the virus.
Among the complaints from GPs were that medical suppliers had sold out of P2 respirator masks, while promised replacements from the Federal Government’s medical stockpile had not been delivered.
“We have received no PPE at all. We have got stuff from Bunnings,” one GP wrote. “This is the equivalent of a country sending the military into a war zone with no weapons.”
