Promises of personal protective equipment (PPE) alone won’t keep NHS, care, police and other essential workers safe, according to Unison general secretary Dave Prentis.

While supplies of PPE have got through to some parts of the UK’s public services, many key workers have told the union that they still have little or no PPE at all. In response to this, Prentis has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding action to ensure all hospitals, care homes, police forces and council services have the sanitiser, gowns, masks and gloves needed to keep staff safe.

In the open letter to Johnson, Prentis said: “Public service workers are particularly affected as they seek to keep the country running, ensure our loved ones are cared for and our communities are clean and safe.”

He added: “As you have repeatedly said, the value of public service workers has never been clearer. Unison is demanding you provide them with protection, as they seek to protect us all.

“Many promises have been made by your government, but promises don’t protect people. Every public service worker without adequate PPE is a potential spreader of this deadly virus, or even a