PERSONAL protective equipment `is available' for health workers, according to an analysis across Northern Ireland by GPs.
The assurance from the British Medical Association (BMA) for Northern Ireland follows suggestions family doctors would not be able to see patients due to lack of appropriate shielding and concerns about those caring for the elderly in nursing homes.
Chief medical officer Dr McBride said a fresh supply of PPE should be handed over to GPs today, adding he does not believe doctors will be forced to withdraw services.
Dr Alan Stout, chair of the BMA's GP committee acknowledged the concern from both health workers and patients about lack of PPE, but insisted the north is not in a situation where medics will be unable to treat the sick.
"This is about if there is a problem we are working together to solve that problem," he told BBC Radio Ulster's `The Nolan Show'.
Dr Stout said his committee and the wider association are gathering from across the healthcare system to see where shortages or weaknesses are in the lifesaving equipment.
"Most of the feedback we're getting, not all of it, is quite positive and saying there is enough and there is supply," he said.
However, care homes have warned they may not be able to afford to pay for enough PPE for staff, due to "unsustainable" prices.
Nadra Ahmed, chairwoman of the National Care Association, said the British government must remove VAT on the essential protective kit as it has done for the NHS.
She described how one provider in Great Britain had paid £8,500 for just one week's worth of PPE and warned "if the social care sector fails, if there is provider failure, the problem is going to be much bigger".
The call has been backed by health union UNISON, which has called for the immediate suspension of VAT to help care homes through the Covid-19 "national emergency".
General secretary Dave Prentis said: "No social care employer should be paying VAT for what has clearly become essential equipment.
"This is a national emergency. The virus is tearing through care homes and everything possible must be done to stop it. That means cutting the costs of PPE from today.
"Care workers are worried sick about the people they look after and also fear for their own health. Suspending VAT immediately for the duration of the crisis will make a huge difference.
"The government must also send a clear directive to suppliers and retailers not to hike the cost of life-saving safety equipment. No one should be trying to make a quick buck from people's desperation to stay well during the pandemic."
