Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department held a stockpile of PPE to respond to...
Conclusion
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department held a stockpile of PPE to respond to what it considered was a reasonable worst-case scenario of an outbreak of pandemic influenza.19 It was identified in the early stages of its COVID-19 pandemic response that the stockpile it held was inadequate to respond to the urgent needs of the NHS and Social Care sector.20 The stockpiles only provided an estimated two weeks’ worth, or less, of most types of PPE needed by the NHS and social care during the pandemic and did not include gowns which were needed.21 Prior to the pandemic, there was no nationally centralised model for procuring and distributing PPE to the health and social care sectors. A separate ‘parallel’ supply chain was set up by the Department, which included establishing a ‘High Priority Lane’ (also referred to as a ‘VIP’ lane) that included referrals of potential suppliers from MPs, ministers and senior officials. In January 2022, the High Court published its ruling that the use of the High Priority Lane was unlawful.22
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3: PAC conclusion: There is no clear plan for how big the PPE stockpile needs to be and how the Department will build greater resilience into the NHS supply chain so that it can respond at pace to future urgent needs. 3: PAC recommendation: The Department should develop a clear plan to increase the resilience of the NHS supply chain to be able to respond at speed if there is another pandemic or variant of concern and needs to explain in detail to the Committee how it intends to work out what items and how much PPE it needs to hold as a national stockpile going forward. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 3.2 The department is undertaking a fundamental review of the clinical countermeasures, including PPE, that need to be readily accessible in event of a future pandemic or emerging infectious disease. This review factors in lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic, the updated analysis of risks undertaken for the next iteration of the National Risk Register and the department’s new approach to pandemic preparedness. 3.3 Informed by expert advice and modelling, the department is working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS Supply Chain on the product mix and amounts