Chief of the ‘The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors’ urges the UK government to prioritize funeral workers in the distribution of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
In a worldwide scramble for PPE Mr. Tennens, representing a group of more than 900 privately owned UK funeral homes, sketching a scene that without proper PPE funeral directors run a serious risk of getting infected when picking up bodies in coronavirus infected zones. He stated; “If our members end up falling sick, it could mean funeral homes will close if they haven’t got fit staff. This could result in them being unable to pick up the bodies of the deceased.”
“Funeral directors understandably haven’t wanted to take attention away from front-line NHS staff in the struggle to get adequate PPE supplies but nonetheless they are part of the emergency response to this crisis and have been treated like a forgotten service,” he added.
The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) in the UK shared a positive message on Twitter that the UK government does acknowledge the need of PPE for the funeral industry.
Positive to hear the importance of #funeralhomes getting access to the #PPE they require mentioned in the Govt’s daily update. As part of @DMAG2020 we’ll keep working hard in our weekly calls with @GOVUK to make sure the profession gets the PPE it needs to meet @PHE_uk guidance.
— NAFD UK (@NAFD_UK) April 19, 2020
‘Unfortunately, the mortuary capacity is at 85%, four weeks ago it was just under 40%.’
Funeral home staff are struggling to access protective equipment amid a spike in the demand for their services.@NickDixonITV reports. pic.twitter.com/8z973R5Iga
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 23, 2020