PIERS MORGAN: Cabinet minister Therese Coffey is mauled over government response to PPE shortages as she reveals she has 'no idea' how many frontline medics have died as a result of lack of gowns, masks and gloves

The Government was facing mounting questions over a lack of protective equipment for NHS staff today as a minister admitted she had no idea how many medics had died from coronavirus. 

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey was savaged by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain as she faced the media to defend efforts to provide adequate masks, gowns, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE).

It came as it was revealed that the UK missed three chances to participate in an EU scheme to buy huge quantities of such items.

The EU has ordered €1.5billion (£1.3billion) worth of protective masks, gowns and gloves for doctors and nurses – but Britain did not take part in talks about the purchases.

And Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed her government would investigating reports PPE destined for Scotland was being diverted to England, saying: 'Any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to the other without consultation or any sense of co-operation would clearly be unconscionable and unacceptable.' 

One in three NHS and critical key workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, official figures showed this morning. 

But supplies of equipment from abroad have been hampered since February, as factories in China were unable to ship out and then were swamped with orders from around the globe.

The NHS has also been sourcing PPE from the UK and  European suppliers and supplies are believed to have increased. Turkey has also flown plane-loads of equipment to the UK from Ankara.

In a heated exchange this morning, Mr Morgan raged at Ms Coffey, asking: 'Do you know how many care workers have died of coronavirus or are currently seriously ill with it?'

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey was savaged by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain as she faced the media to defend efforts to provide adequate masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE)

Coffey admitted she didn't know the answer, for the host to fire back: 'Do you know how many NHS workers have died from coronavirus?'

When she again said she didn't know the answer, Piers raged: 'How can you not? I'm not being funny but how can a member of the British government sent out to talk to the media have literally no idea how many NHS workers or care workers have died? 

Ms Coffey replied: 'I do know that over 11,000 people have died, which is very sad, across the country. I do know that we are prioritising the clinical need assessment of those people particularly in hospital but also in a social care setting.'  

GPs have reportedly been told to buy their own PPE when they have contacted the Government's official supply helpline. 

And the Royal College of Nursing has previously highlighted problems medics have had accessing items including face masks, eye protection and hand sanitiser.

Its chief executive today revealed that  she will highlight a 'damaging' lack of working PPE and testing when she appears remotely in front of MPs on Thursday. 

Dame Donna Kinnair is to be quizzed by the Health and Social Care Committee - chaired by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Dame Donna said today: 'We call on the UK government to act rapidly and robustly so that it is without doubt that the safety of staff and the public is paramount in this crisis. 

'Our members should not have to choose between their sense of duty, their personal safety, and the safety of their families.' 

The union has already warned nurses that they can refuse to treat coronavirus patients 'as a last resort' if they feel it is unsafe for them to do so, because of a lack of PPE. 

This morning new statistics revealed Britain's official coronavirus death toll is missing 10 per cent of victims because they died in care homes and not NHS hospitals.

Data collected by the Office for National Statistics showed there were around 4,100 COVID-19-related deaths registered by April 3 in England and Wales.

Slightly less than 10 per cent (406) of those deaths occurred in hospices, care homes and private homes, according to the analysis. 

But the daily death tolls published by the NHS and the Department of Health only count people who have died in hospitals.

It increases the pressure on ministers to boost the rollout of PPE to care home staff as well as NHS medics. 

Regarding reports that supplies earmarked for Scotland were being sent to England, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'Our PPE strategy is UK wide, making sure that frontline workers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have the PPE they need to stay protected while taking care of patients. 

'Through this four nation approach we are working closely with the devolved administrations to coordinate PPE evenly across the UK. We have not instructed any company to prioritise PPE for one nation over the others.' 

Yesterday foreign secretary Dominic Raab acknowledged that PPE shortages – rather than distribution issues only – was an issue and admitted supplies were running low because of 'a competitive market out there'. 

But some 25 European countries and eight companies are involved in the joint PPE procurement scheme and the first deliveries could be received within days, The Guardian reported. 

A spokesman for the commission said the joint scheme has led to offers of protective gear in excess of the amount requested.

However, the UK will miss out on the PPE because it did not take part in any of the three rounds of bulk-buying which were first launched by the EU in February.

The Government has previously said it was unable to join the EU's procurement schemes as it had not received an email of invitation.

Whitehall officials reportedly only realised after all three rounds had been put out to tender that they had not received invitations to join the Joint Procurement Agreement steering committee where the orders are organised.

After telling the EU commission that the invitation emails were being sent to an outdated address the UK finally participated in its first meeting on joint PPE procurement on March 19.

However, British officials did not follow up that meeting and did not attend on March 25 when participating countries were invited to outline their requirements for future purchases by the next day. 

In a separate interview Ms Coffey said the UK 'is in a better place now than necessarily we would have been under the EU scheme'.

'The important point is that we have over 700 million pieces of PPE that are being delivered,' she told LBC radio.

Missed opportunities to get more masks and gowns for medics 

January 31: On the day of Brexit, a UK official attends UK meeting on the emerging virus. Four countries raise the potential need for more PPE -  UK is not among them.

February 4:  UK attends meeting of EU and World Health Organisation (WHO) officials in Luxembourg.

February 24: European Commission updates officials on PPE procurement and asks countries to outline their 'exact needs'. The UK was invited but did not attend.

February 28: The EU makes its first join procurement of £1.2million of gloves and gowns. The UK is not involved.

March 12: The procurement fails because of a shortage of suppliers and is relaunched on March 15, still without UK involvement.

March 17: Two more rounds of procurement for masks, goggles and ventilators go forward without the UK

March 19: The UK joins the procurement steering committee but does not join a tender sent out to firms the same day for lab supplies.

March 23: Health Secretary Matt Hancock admits there have been 'challenges' with the supply of PPE but that he was taking the issue 'very seriously'. 

March 24: No 10 confirms it has not joined EU procurement effort in favour of its own plan. It later claims it did not join because it missed an email invitation.

March 25: British officials do not attend a meeting at which countries were invited to outline their requirements for future purchases by the next day

March 26: The Government says it has 8,175 ventilators, but asks UK firms to build an additional 30,000 within weeks.

March 29: Two surgeons become the first UK medics to die from coronavirus, putting a spotlight on PPE supplies for the NHS. 

April 10:  Mr Hancock appears to suggest NHS medics are being wasteful of masks and gowns, urging them to  'treat PPE as the precious resource it is'.

April 11: Mr Hancock confirms that 19 medics have died from coronavirus, after initially saying it would be 'inappropriate' to reveal the death toll.

April 13: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab acknowledged that PPE shortages – rather than distribution issues only – was an issue and admitted supplies were running low because of 'a competitive market out there'.