Dental company boss calls on industry to rid supply chains of labour abuse risks

Following allegations that the NHS is 'turning a blind eye' to labour rights violations in the trade of masks and gloves, Joe Earl, general manager at Dental Sky, suggests that dental wholesalers need to demand clarity from their suppliers when it comes to ordering PPE for dentists and their teams.

In an article published by the British Medical Journal yesterday (30 April), Mahmood Bhutta, a consultant in ear, nose and throat surgery at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, says he feels ‘ashamed as a doctor to be wearing gloves manufactured using human exploitation’.

Mahmood, who founded the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group in 2006, suggests whilst labour abuse continues, the coronavirus pandemic is bringing about an increase in the suffering of thousands of workers.

In the BMJ article, journalist Jane Feinmann spoke to Mahmood as she explored allegations of abuse around the production of medical gloves and masks and the use of child labour to make surgical instruments destined for the global market.