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CORONAVIRUS nurses have been forced "to hold their breath" as medics are using "kids' school goggles" because of the lack of equipment, a top doctor has said.

Dr Rinesh Parmar, of the Doctors' Association, said there are still major issues surrounding the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

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Dr Rinesh Parmar, of the Doctors' Association, said there is still a lack of PPECredit: BBC

PPE has a major obstacle in protecting NHS frontline staff during the coronavirus pandemicCredit: Getty Images - Getty

He told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday show that NHS staff are having to reuse eye masks and added that some nurses doing high-risk procedures are "having to hold their breath".

Dr Parmar added that a survey conducted by his organisation has found that almost half of doctors say they have no eye protection at all.

He said he had also heard from doctors who said they have been forces to reuses masks and they should be single use only.

He added: "Nurses are doing some of these high risk procedures because they're unsure whether the masks they've been provided with is going to offer them adequate protection."

He said: "Sadly doctors have been forced to take matters into their own hands."

Asked on whether the NHS would cope, he said: "We've gone into this pandemic in a position of relative weakness."

Dr Parmar said that along with the safety of patients, the safety of the workforce "is our paramount concern".

He said: "Given the severe lack of PPE getting through, we are all very concerned about potentially losing more colleagues.

Dr Parmar said it was "sad to hear" of those who had already been lost "in the line of duty", adding "none of us wants to hear further stories of frontline staff losing their lives".

As the coronavirus crisis worsens in the UK, doctors and nurses have spoken out about the lack of personal protection equipment for hospital staff.

Some members are said to have bought scrubs on Amazon or had friends knit them protective kit.

Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, from Doctors' Association UK, said: "At a time when the country is relying on frontline NHS staff, this is unforgivable."

It comes as The Sun has launched the Who Cares Win appeal to give all NHS frontline staff help they desperately require during this unprecedented crisis - and donations have already passed £100,000.

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Dr Alfa Saadu, 68, died of coronavirus after fighting the disease for two weeks

Mental health nurse Thomas Harvey, 57, tragically died after treating a coronavirus patientCredit: GoFundMe

Dr Adil El Tayar, a working surgeon, died at West Middlesex University Hospital in West LondonCredit: NHS

Dr Habib Zaidi, 76, died after contracting coronavirusCredit: NHS

At least eight medics have died fighting the killer bug.

John Alagos, 23, is the third nurse and the youngest British medic believed to have died from the deadly COVID-19.

His devastated mum told that her son told her that he had not been wearing the proper protective clothing while at work.

The two other nurses died of coronavirus are believed to have been infected by patients.

Areema Nasreen, a mum-of-three who had no underlying conditions, died in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital, where she had worked for 16 years.

Aimee O'Rourke, 39, who is also a mother-of-three, died in intensive care at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent where she worked.

Five other medics have also tragically died from coronavirus.

Dr Alfa Saadu, who worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years in different hospitals across London, died on Tuesday after fighting the disease for two weeks.