By What has gone wrong with the UK’s supply of PPE?
Amid growing reports of PPE shortages from NHS staff, journalists and politicians alike, we ask, what has gone wrong with the UK’s supply of PPE, and what might have been done and still can be done to repair the situation?
The lack of PPE has become one of the defining stories of the UK’s battle with coronavirus.
Across the nation, hospital, GP, and care home staff have continuously struggled to access the disposable aprons, gloves and goggles they need.
This week the British Medical Association have reported that frontline doctors were “frightened” and being left with difficult choices about whether to risk their lives by treating patients because of a lack of kit.
At the outset, the UK did in fact have a stockpile of kit housed at a giant temperature-controlled warehouse in the north-west of England.
There were millions of pieces of equipment, which have proved invaluable in the first few months of the pandemic. And, despite the demands placed on it, the stockpile has still not been completely used up.
Nonetheless, frontline staff have found themselves in a position where they have not always had the kit they need.
One of the key areas where the UK has struggled is sourcing new supplies.
The crucial piece of kit that there have been shortages of is gowns. These are the full-length fluid-repellent protective gear needed in intensive care, where patients are on ventilators.
This is because the UK only has one manufacturer that can make them and because they use quite specialist material other companies have not simply been able to change what they are producing.
This has left us very reliant on international supply, which the rest of the world is also trying to access. China is the biggest manufacturer and its factories have, of course, been disrupted by its own coronavirus outbreak.
Last week the UK received a shipment that was meant to contain 200,000 gowns, but in the end only 20,000 arrived. Hospitals go through 150,000 a day, so it was of very limited value.
Sadly, even where there has been equipment available, the basic distribution networks have been overwhelmed and have struggled.
The UK’s chief medical advisor Chris Whitty has said that the situation will require careful management in the coming weeks.
The over-riding challenge remains ensuring that a steady supply of new kit can be guaranteed.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the drive to secure more kit is the biggest cross-government operation in terms of both scale and complexity he has ever seen, with officials working “night and day” to resolve the problem.
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