Coronavirus: Government to set up new supply line to deliver protective equipment to frontline NHS staff

‘We should not ask people to be on the frontline without the right protective equipment,’ admits communities secretary Robert Jenrick

Face masks at an NHS warehouse in Larkhall, Scotland – a new supply line is due to begin operations within days (PA)

A national response team is to be set up to deliver millions of face masks, gloves and gowns to frontline NHS staff after officials admitted the existing supply chain was “overwhelmed” by demand.

The government said the new dedicated unit was supported by the armed forces and other emergency services to ensure enough supplies reached hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries, and pharmacies.

It came after medical professionals raised concerns about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the UK.

At least two doctors have already died after testing positive for coronavirus, including surgeon Adil El Tayar and frontline doctor Amged El-Hawrani. A third, GP Dr Habib Zaidi, died after showing “textbook symptoms” of the illness.

Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, said the delivery of 170 million masks, 42.8 million gloves, 13.7 million aprons, 182,000 gowns, 2.3 million pairs of eye protectors and nearly 10 million items of cleaning equipment to 58,000 NHS Trusts and healthcare facilities was already underway.

“We simply cannot and should not ask people to be on the frontline without the right protective equipment,” he added.

“We will not stop until we have got you the equipment that you need. Every single GP practice, dental practice and community pharmacy has had a PPE delivery. All care homes, hospices, and home care providers have, or will shortly, receive a delivery.”

The new national supply line is due to begin operations within days as part of a collaboration between the NHS, Ministry of Defence and the National Supply Disruption Response team – which was previously involved in Brexit preparations.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, an association of NHS Trusts, said the supply chain had been “overwhelmed by the understandable sudden change from stable and predictable demand to everyone wanting lots of PPE immediately”.

He added: “The pre-existing supply chain is understandably not robust enough to cope with required volumes so a brand new supply chain is effectively being created from scratch in a fortnight.”

Officials are also working on setting up a website to allow healthcare organisations to order deliveries, possibly by the second week of April.

Meanwhile, the actor James McAvoy has donated £275,000 to a campaign to provide protective equipment for NHS staff. The crowdfunding initiative ”Masks for NHS Heroes” was set up by four doctors to help plug the gap in supplies.

An explosive memo revealed this week that the government had previously rejected a recommendation that all NHS staff should be given protective equipment during a flu epidemic because of the "very large" cost.

Labour said the decision – made in 2017, when Jeremy Hunt was the health secretary - raised “serious questions” about whether underfunding was now costing lives.

Additional reporting by agencies