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MP sacked by care provider for speaking out on PPE shortages
A Labour MP who has been working for a social care provider during the COVID-19 crisis has been sacked by her employer The ExtraCare Charitable Trust after claiming that the retirement home she worked in was struggling with personal protective equipment (PPE) supply.
Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, had been working as a carer at ExtraCare’s Lark Hill Retirement Village in Nottingham during the pandemic but said she had been let go after raising concern publicly about PPE supply.
Appearing on BBC’s Newsnight on 24 April, Ms Whittome said: “I can tell you from the frontline that we are scared and we don’t feel as though our government is keeping us safe because there isn’t enough PPE.”
The Daily Mirror then reported on 7 May that Ms Whittome received an email from ExtraCare explaining that she would no longer be asked to do shifts at the retirement village because she had spoken to the media about PPE. ExtraCare confirmed Ms Whittome’s exit.
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A spokesperson for ExtraCare said: “At Lark Hill, we have over three months’ supply of PPE, including over 25,000 pairs of gloves, 7,700 aprons and nearly 6,000 masks – we have access to further equipment should we need it.
“ExtraCare campaigned for PPE in early April to ensure that none of our 19 retirement communities would be without PPE. We recognise that there may be shortages nationally, but this has not been the position at our Lark Hill Village.”
Inside Housing previously reported that the provider had issued an urgent Facebook appeal for more PPE on 6 April that said “we desperately need PPE equipment”.
But on 30 April – six days after Ms Whittome appeared on Newsnight – Inside Housing received a statement from ExtraCare that said: “Although we have faced challenges with delays and even cancellations of shipments from overseas, we now have a good supply of PPE for our frontline staff.”
Nevertheless, the provider warned that changes to government guidelines did mean that demand was likely to increase.
They said: “It is gloves, aprons and surgical masks that are most difficult to get hold of and while we have placed orders for these, there’s a few weeks’ waiting list for these to arrive.”
Responding to her sacking, Ms Whittome said: “I am appalled that ExtraCare have chosen this course of action, without following any due process and without me ever having portrayed them negatively in the media.
“I will continue to speak the truth about my frontline experiences and I condemn care companies who try to gag staff for speaking out and raising concerns.”
