Thank you for contacting me about the supply of personal protective equipment to people working in health and social care.
I have been contacted by many constituents and by organisations and agencies providing a range of health and social care services about the issue of PPE. I have posted below detailed information from the NHS England website; the page can also be accessed here.
I would like to reassure you that ensuring that our frontline staff are properly protected is of paramount importance to me and to my colleagues on all sides of Parliament. The army, with its unrivalled logistical expertise, has been working to distribute supplies. Having raised this matter with the department, I know that my colleague the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is taking this issue extremely seriously. However, I will continue to closely scrutinise steps being taken to ensure that all health and social care staff, whether they work in the NHS or other care facilities, are adequately protected and able to carry out their vital roles safely. To this end, throughout the crisis, I have been in close touch with the Local Resilience Forum which covers Calder Valley.
As part of the response to coronavirus, the UK has implemented a regulation to ensure that there is adequate supply of vital PPE equipment within the UK, EU, EFTA member states and certain other dependent territories. Before a licence is granted, the Department of Health and Social Care will consider whether the proposed export threatens the supply of PPE within the UK and the EU. I know that the Government is working with a range of suppliers to ensure that all health and social care settings, as well as other frontline workers, are able to access the protective equipment they need.
Almost 8 in 10 members of staff in the NHS workforce are female, and I agree that it is vital that PPE can be used by a range of sizes and body types. I know that my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care are working with suppliers to ensure that all staff are able to access appropriate and functional protective equipment.
We must all be very humbled by the monumental efforts of people across the country to support their local health service providers. PPE, however, is created to strict specifications and requirements in order to ensure the safety of its users. The Government has published these specifications online and wants to hear from any manufacturers who can produce PPE in line with these requirements. Potential suppliers are asked to complete an online survey which helps the Government track capacity within the system and production going forward. There is a dedicated team in Government to help fast-track the regulatory approval process helping to ensure equipment can reach health and social care workers as quickly as possible.
I welcome the creation of a cross-government PPE sourcing unit to secure new supply lines from across the world. It has already published rigorous standards against which it will buy PPE. Expert procurement professionals have been drafted in to identify PPE suppliers from across the globe to meet the increasing demand for a growing list of PPE products. This is enabling officials to pull together a comprehensive list of the UK’s PPE needs. The Government is taking an open source approach and involving international partners in a co-ordinated procurement programme.
This is only one strand in the approach to increasing future supply of PPE. The Government is also calling on our homegrown industries to come forward to create new PPE manufacturing capabilities in the UK. This national effort will be led by Lord Deighton. Many businesses have generously come forward with offers to turn over their production lines as part of the national effort.
On reusing PPE, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has determined that, where there are acute shortages of PPE, and where it is safe to do so, sessional use and reuse of PPE is approved in line with the PPE guidance led by Public Health England. Some of the PPE in the NHS Covid-19 ensemble is designated as being single use, but where equipment is safe to reuse as outlined above, NHS Trusts should clearly document how integrity checks and decontamination processes are being carried out.
I hope you find this useful and reassuring.
Thank you again for contacting me about this vital issue.
Craig Whittaker MP
May 2020
From the NHS England website:
There is unprecedented, global demand for personal protective equipment as a result of this pandemic. The UK has released its pandemic influenza stockpiles, which included many types of PPE required for tackling COVID-19, and new logistics networks – including support from the army – have been established to manage supply and demand across the UK, and to make sure appropriate PPE reaches those who need it.
Information for NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts
For acute, mental health, community, integrated care and ambulance trusts there is now a PPE dedicated supply channel delivering all core PPE products used for managing and treating patients with COVID-19 such as eye protection, aprons, gloves, gowns, hand sanitiser and masks.
Pallet deliveries are being pushed out on a daily basis by Clipper Logistics. For more information about this service, daily manifests of what is being delivered, and how a customer service team can support enquiries visit the PPE Dedicated Supply Channel.
This supply channel can also help Trusts and regional teams access information about how much PPE equipment has been delivered to each hospital, to help facilitate local mutual aid.
Information for primary care, hospices, social care and home care providers
There are a range of options available to primary care, hospices and home care providers to get of PPE equipment.
- Additional supplies of PPE equipment continue to be made available to wholesalers that routinely supply to GPs, dentists, pharmacies, social care and hospices
- Regional NHS leadership teams are working with individual trusts to support mutual aid and redistribution of supplies to meet greatest clinical need
Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) have received a push of PPE supplies to respond to local spikes in need, including those in social care and primary care, where there are current blockages in the supply chain. The PPE stock provided to LRFs is to support urgent need in vital services which are not linked to the NHS Supply Chain. This PPE is intended to support service providers which have exhausted their usual routes for PPE and there remains an urgent need for additional stock.
A new online ordering site is being developed and will enable primary care, community care and social care providers to register their PPE requirements more easily. The site will be rolled out so that these providers can request critical PPE from a central inventory. Further details will be released on how to register directly to providers as part of a phased approach. Orders will be managed in line with the published guidance from Public Health England and shipped directly via Royal Mail.
Accessing urgent supplies
Any organisation running critically short of PPE and which has exhausted other supply routes, can phone the National Supply Distribution Response (NSDR) on 0800 915 9964 for an urgent delivery.