Perhaps half of doctors in England buy PPE at their own expense, or rely on donations, according to a survey by the British Medical Association.
The survey, which included more than 16,000 doctors, also found that 65 percent of them feel partially or not at all protected on the front line of the coronavirus crisis.
One of them said the situation was "an abuse of all employees".
The British government said it was "working around the clock" to deliver the equipment.
The survey found that 48 percent of doctors reported that they had purchased PPE directly for themselves or their department, or had received donations from a local charity or company.
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"At the moment we are at the mercy of donations or buying items," Dr Chand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association, told the BBC.
This does not give us security, and is inconsistent with the government's commitment and pledge that it will protect its workforce," he added.
He said that the survey showed that supplies had improved, but had not reached a point where all employees could be assured that they would be adequately protected from infection.
'The Greatest Fear'
Dr Helen Kirby Blount is a GP, at Riverside Health Partnership in Retford, Nottinghamshire. She told the BBC that the partnership had not received any personal protective equipment from the government since early March.
She said medical staff have resorted to buying personal protective equipment online and are otherwise relying on donations, including goggles and hats, provided by local schools.
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Costs continue to rise, and there is no guarantee that employees will be reimbursed for equipment they have purchased themselves.
Dr. Helen said that doctors reuse equipment when practical, but they have so far avoided reusing aprons, or gloves and surgical masks."We are not comfortable reusing masks. We wouldn't normally do that in any other type of situation," she added.
About five of Helen's doctors are in frequent contact with patients who may have coronavirus, including patients in nursing homes and patients referred by the 111 telephone service.
PPE is best reserved for high-stakes situations, says Dr. Helen.
She believes that the current supply of masks will run out, in one to two weeks. She believes the situation is likely to get worse as restrictions are lifted.
And Helen adds: “We don't expect the coronavirus to disappear anytime soon. Our biggest fear is what will happen next fall, when it will be impossible to tell who has coronavirus from who has the normal types of winter viruses. Everyone will have to Wear personal protective equipment.”
About a third of doctors said to the survey that they did not talk about PPE, shortages of medical kits, testing kits, or shortages of medicines because they did not think any action would be taken if they did.
The British government said, in a statement, that it is "working around the clock to ensure the delivery of personal protective equipment" to healthcare staff, and said it has provided more than 1 billion items since the outbreak began.
A plane carrying 10 million pairs of surgical gloves from Malaysia arrived Sunday, the latest delivery of protective equipment, as the NHS tries to meet demand.
The British Medical Association stressed the need to provide sufficient protective equipment, before easing the closure restrictions, because this means resuming normal services, provided by the National Health Service Authority, and dealing with a greater number of patients who are not infected with the Corona epidemic.