EPA
A personal protective equipment (PPE) delivery from Turkey to the UK has been delayed, the government has said.
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said on Saturday equipment including 400,000 gowns would arrive on Sunday, and there was "short supply" in some areas.
A government spokesman confirmed the delay on Sunday, saying they were working "to ensure the shipment is delivered as soon as possible".
A source told the BBC they hoped it would arrive in the coming days.
The pledge to take delivery of more protective kit came after warnings that some hospitals' intensive care units could run out of gowns this weekend.
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Public Health England changed its advice on Friday to allow the NHS to re-use gowns if stock was running low, saying "some compromise" was needed "in times of extreme shortages".
It asked staff to reuse "(washable) surgical gowns or coveralls or similar suitable clothing (for example, long-sleeved laboratory coat, long-sleeved patient gown or industrial coverall) with a disposable plastic apron for AGPs (aerosol-generating procedures) and high-risk settings with forearm washing once gown or coverall is removed".
The guidance also said hospitals could reserve the gowns for surgical operations and procedures which were likely to transmit respiratory pathogens.
NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis said for the guidance on the use of protective equipment to be properly followed, it was "absolutely critical above everything else that we have the supplies of PPE going out to the front line".
But the Royal College of Nursing said the guidance was developed without a full consultation and the British Medical Association (BMA) - which represents doctors - said any change must be driven by science, not availability.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said the UK had built up stocks of PPE in expectation of a flu pandemic - as well as to prepare for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit - but he said there was a "worldwide pressure" on supplies.
However, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr the extra resources would be coming from Turkey "this weekend", along with another 25 million gowns, that were coming from China.
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Labour's shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, said "serious mistakes have been made" by the government in tackling the outbreak.
He told Sky News: "We know that our front-line NHS staff don't have the PPE, that they've been told this weekend that they won't necessarily have the gowns which are vital to keep them safe."
The government has appointed Lord Deighton, who headed the organising committee of the London Olympics, to resolve problems with supplies and distribution of PPE.
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