A FORMER nurse says she was appalled after seeing workmen outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital flouting coronavirus rules.

Kim Mallinder had just dropped off her husband, who has prostate cancer, for a scan at the hospital when she was shocked to discover a group of workers laying tarmac in the car park who were not following the government guidance on preventing the spread of Covid-19.

She said she saw around eight workers resurfacing the car park in front of the main entrance who were not abiding the two-metre social distancing rule and not wearing protective equipment.

Mrs Mallinder, aged 69, said: “A lot of the guys were walking about gormlessly. They were all huddled together wearing no PPE. They saw me take the picture as I parked my car and just looked at me.”

Mrs Mallinder, who was a nurse for 45 years and worked in health and safety, added: “I was appalled. It’s their supervisor who needs to get a grip. They were not only standing side by side but none of them were wearing masks. Also, they did not have safety glasses in spite of the risk of eye injuries from the tarmac.

“I was shocked to observe that not only was social distancing being flouted but the manual workers were not wearing masks or other items of PPE, such as safety glasses, hearing protection or hi-viz jackets. There was also a forklift truck and heavy roller moving in the vicinity.

“It’s a good idea that they're doing the works during lockdown as there are less visitors, so I can’t criticise that.

“If they need to be at such close proximately, they need to be wearing the correct PPE to prevent the coronavirus or an eye injury.”

Mrs Mallinder, from Honeybourne, said she spotted the workers on April 9.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “This has been raised as a concern and we have reminded our contractors they need to follow national guidance. We would like to thank the individual for bringing this matter to our attention.”

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