DMAG urges Public Health England to act now over missing PPE guidance

The Deceased Management Advisory Group (DMAG)  has written to the chief executive of Public Health England expressing its “extreme concern” about the ongoing lack of industry-specific guidance on use of personal protective equipment for those working with deceased people infected by Covid-19.

In conference calls with the Cabinet Office on 27 March, the National Association of Funeral Directors said it was “led to expect” that updated PHE guidance would have been published by now and said “it became clear that there was still no date confirmed for this guidance to be produced”.

DMAG comprises the Association of Private Crematoria and Cemeteries (APCC), Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA); Funeral Furnishing Manufacturers’ Association (FFMA); Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM); National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) and The Cremation Society.

The NAFD added: “We understand that scientific understanding of the disease is still developing but, in the absence of specific guidance, we are left having to interpret advice meant for those in a healthcare setting, which leaves so many questions unanswered about what PPE is really needed. 

“The fact of having to work without clear guidance is causing extreme anxiety among funeral workers, particularly given the desperate shortage of PPE available.”

Click here to read the letter.