DHSC announces two billion items of PPE delivered

Two billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have now been delivered to the frontline since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Department of Health and Social Care says that 341 million masks, 313 million aprons, four million gowns and 1.1 billion gloves have been delivered to frontline workers thanks to the efforts of government, NHS, industry and the armed forces to massively scale-up distribution networks.

The normal supply chain for PPE was designed to accommodate delivery to 226 NHS trusts. Essential PPE supplies are now being supplied to 58,000 different settings, including care homes, hospices and community care organisations.

The figure, considered a ‘milestone’ by the government, is part the result of more than 30 deals which have been struck with companies, including the Royal Mint, Jaguar Land Rover and Honeywell, through the Make initiative to manufacture and deliver PPE in the UK.

Matt Hancock, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “Coronavirus has placed unprecedented global demands on PPE supply chains. To tackle this we set a national challenge calling on companies to channel their manufacturing power into manufacturing much-needed PPE, and brought in Lord Deighton who has truly delivered once more for his country.

“Two billion items of PPE have now been delivered to the frontline, and a further 28 billion items sourced, that will protect frontline workers well into the future. It is thanks to the herculean effort from UK industry, the NHS and departmental teams, our diplomatic teams abroad, and the armed forces that we have now hit this impressive milestone.”

Lord Paul Deighton, adviser to the Health and Social Care Secretary on PPE, said: “The driving motivation of our team has been to supply our frontline workers with the PPE they need so they can focus on saving lives. This is why hitting this milestone matters and why I am so grateful to all the individuals and companies, both in the UK and overseas, who have contributed to this effort.

“Responding to a massive spike in our requirements and a significant global supply shortage, we have in a matter of weeks scaled up our international procurement, our domestic manufacturing and our logistics and distribution capabilities so that we can deliver PPE to where it’s needed. We are now working to build the stock levels which will help to future-proof our health and care sectors for years to come.”