The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the reliance of the NHS on disposable medical instruments and protective clothing—but their trade hides a murky world of modern slavery and labour abuse, writes Jane Feinmann The failure of the NHS to provide adequate protective equipment for its employees—including basic items such as gloves and masks—has been among the many unpleasant shocks of the covid-19 crisis for healthcare professionals. Yet there is a murkier scandal about the procurement of these everyday items that the NHS has yet to face. “Slavery is prospering in the 21st century—with the NHS turning a blind eye. Economics is all that matters; manufacturers try to sell at maximum profit and purchasers minimise cost,” said Mahmood Bhutta, consultant in ear, nose, and throat surgery at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust. Bhutta founded the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group in 2006. He said he feels “ashamed as a doctor to be wearing gloves manufactured using human exploitation.” Labour rights violations are widespread in the manufacture of healthcare goods globally, including disposable surgical instruments in Pakistan, surgical masks in Mexico, and healthcare uniforms in India. Perhaps the most prominent allegations of abuse centre around the production of medical gloves. It’s a lucrative market; 300 billion gloves were used globally in 2019 (before the covid-19 pandemic) and the NHS spends £80m (€92m; $100m) on 1.5 billion boxes of disposable gloves every year.1 The largest rubber glove manufacturing companies is Top Glove, with an annual revenue of £870m. It is based in Malaysia and produces gloves for multiple brands supplying NHS Supply Chain, the organisation that has a 40% share of medical goods purchased by NHS hospitals and clinics. In 2018 and 2019, the Guardian 2 and The Diplomat 3 published reports accusing both companies of routine abusive labour practices …

中文翻译：

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面具和手套交易中的现代奴隶制丑闻。

冠状病毒大流行凸显了NHS对一次性医疗器械和防护服的依赖-但它们的贸易掩盖了现代奴隶制和劳工虐待的黑暗世界，简·费曼（Jane Feinmann）写道NHS无法为员工提供足够的防护设备-包括诸如手套和口罩之类的基本物品已成为医护专业人员在covid-19危机中造成的许多不愉快冲击。然而，NHS尚未面对的有关这些日常用品的采购的丑闻就更加模糊了。“奴隶制在21世纪蒸蒸日上，但NHS对此视而不见。经济是最重要的。制造商试图以最大的利润出售产品，而购买者则将成本降至最低。”布莱顿和苏塞克斯大学医院NHS Trust的耳鼻喉外科顾问Mahmood Bhutta说。布塔（Bhutta）于2006年成立了医学公平与道德贸易集团（Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group）。他说，他感到“作为一名医生，戴上了利用人类剥削制造的手套而感到羞耻。” 侵犯劳工权利的现象在全球医疗产品的生产中普遍存在，包括巴基斯坦的一次性手术器械，墨西哥的手术口罩和印度的医疗服。也许最明显的虐待指控集中在医用手套的生产上。这是一个利润丰厚的市场。2019年（在covid-19大流行之前）全球使用了3000亿只手套，NHS每年在15亿盒一次性手套上花费8000万英镑（9200万欧元; 1亿美元）1。年收入8.7亿英镑。它位于马来西亚，为供应NHS供应链的多个品牌生产手套，由NHS医院和诊所购买的医疗产品占40％份额的组织。在2018年和2019年，《卫报2》和《外交官3》发表了报告，指控两家公司都实施了常规的虐待劳工行为……