Frontline NHS staff were given masks with rotten elastic and personal protective equipment (PPE) that had already expired, a Commons committee has been told.
Dr Emily McWhirter, who was director of nursing at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in Wandsworth, London, recalled opening a box of gowns where a load of insects crept out of them when giving examples of difficulties around equipment for healthcare workers during the coronavirus crisis.
Members of the Public Accounts Committee gasped when Dr McWhirter, who is now retired, said expiry dates had been covered up on items of protective equipment delivered to her hospital.