The government has defended its PPE strategy after 海角视频 market leader Arco issued a 10-point plan to Whitehall, frustrated at not being able to supply the NHS frontline at the peak of the pandemic.
The Hull giant has issued the recommendations for the Department of Health and Social Care to take up after stocks sat in the huge city warehouse as organisations scrambled for vital masks, gloves and gowns as the coronavirus outbreak hit.
More than 15,000 suppliers came forward when an urgent call to action was made, and the National Audit Office has since found some respondents had no experience, with cronyism also highlighted as MPs and peers’ recommendations were found to have been prioritised.
Praising the pace of reaction, the NAO has said the government “paid very high prices given the very unusual market conditions, and hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of PPE will not be used for the original intended purpose”.
Anecdotal evidence at the time and the release of the report stirred Arco’s chairman Thomas Martin into outlining his view of the failings in a robust document, released on Tuesday.
In response, a DHSC spokesperson said: “We have been working tirelessly to deliver more than 5.1 billion items of PPE to the frontline so far, and almost 32 billion items have been ordered to meet the future needs of health and social care staff.
“As set out in our PPE Strategy, we have built a stable and resilient system, including four-month stockpiles to ensure that health and social care sectors have access to PPE to meet future need.
“We received an extraordinary response to our call to action to supply PPE to the frontline and all offers were prioritised based on volume, price, quality and lead time, with proper due diligence carried out on contracts.”
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In the city alone, the university and plastics producers - ranging from industrial suppliers to 3D print innovators, united to make face masks, while bespoke tailor Cock of the Walk set about making hundreds of surgical gowns. They were used by Hull hospitals.
Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy has the 400,000 sq ft Arco National Distribution Centre in her constituency. She has urged the government to heed the advice.
She said: “Following the disastrous response from our government in early 2020 they were playing catch up for most of this year in being able to deliver appropriate amounts of PPE to the NHS. Their lack of guidance, action and leadership led to many shortages of PPE up and down the country.
“Arco, a world leader in safety had already been working with many of its international suppliers but found its hands tied by the sometimes-bewildering decisions of the government. At times finding itself able to supply PPE to other countries in volume, but because of bureaucratic red tape they were not allowed to supply to our NHS.
“Yet after having investigated how the government did provide contracts for PPE procurement, we see the evidence of reckless wastefulness and questions to be answered about the award of contracts to MP’s associates and friends.
“I am immensely proud that Arco is a Hull based company and employs thousands of workers from our region and I would seriously recommend that the government takes onboard the suggestion from Arco’s recent PPE procurement procedures to prevent any futures epidemics being as completely mismanaged as the government did with Covid-19.”
The DHSC said British manufacturers will now provide 70 per cent of the 海角视频’s PPE requirement this winter, with four month stockpiles now in place for face masks, visors and gowns. Gloves is the only element not now met on home soil.
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Arco has more than 135 years of safety experience, its own 海角视频AS-accredited product assurance lab, a 400,000 sq ft National Distribution Centre that had just been expanded ahead of the outbreak - officially opeend by the Princess Royal in September - and a sourcing team based in China. It has been at the forefront of the most significant recent global emergencies, including the response to both SARS and Ebola outbreaks.
For Covid it went on to source, procure and distribute over 140 million face masks, 18 million gloves, over 50,000 coveralls and five million hygiene products to the NHS, ambulance services, other public health bodies, local authorities and critical industries.