FRONTLINE DELIVERY
NHS workers will be able to order PPE from ‘Amazon’ style site as Government unveils new plan
CARE homes and GP surgeries will be able to order masks from an Amazon-style NHS store that will deliver protective kit much faster.
NHS Supply Chain is opening the speedy online service for personal protective equipment (PPE) with logistical help from the military.
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The Health Secretary said the service would be available by the end of the month - and promised new daily deliveries to hospitals from next week.
It follows warnings that frontline heroes are dying because they are forced to care for patients without adequate protection - while nurses admit they've been forced to share PPE or buy their own masks.
Matt Hancock made the announcement tonight as he unveiled the Government's new three-point PPE plan that aims to ensure the right stock is in the right place at the right time.
We need everyone to treat PPE like the precious resource that it is
Matt Hancock
He said his goal is that "everyone" working in a critical role must get the protection that they need.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, Mr Hancock said there is a "huge international demand" for PPE and a "global squeeze" on supply.
Detailing the Government's new PPE plan, he explained it has three strands - the first is guidance, then distribution, followed by supply.
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Mr Hancock said: "There's enough PPE to go around, but only if it's used in line with our guidance.
"We need everyone to treat PPE like the precious resource that it is.
"That means only using it when there's a clinical need, and not using more than is needed."
'Amazon' style delivery
Mr Hancock said that in order to ramp up PPE delivery the Government would be rolling out a new online portal for NHS workers to order what they need.
Similarly to Amazon Prime, it would allow them to track demand in real time, and deliver according to requirements.
He said: "I can announce that over the next three weeks we're rolling out an online portal, allowing primary care and social care a system so that they can request from a central inventory.
"This will mean that we can track demand in real time, and deliver according to need."
He added: "This Herculean effort of enormous operational complexity, to get the right piece of equipment to the right person at the right moment.
"I pay tribute to the enormous efforts of all those who are making it happen."
To help scale up distribution, Mr Hancock said that the army has been drafted in to create a "giant PPE distribution network on an unprecedented scale."
Mr Hancock said that since the start of the outbreak there have been more than 742 million pieces of PPE delivered to the frontline.
"This includes 161 million masks, 127 million aprons, a million gowns and 345 million pairs of gloves," he said.
But every NHS hospital has received a delivery of critical PPE once every 72 hours, and over the next week this is being made daily.
As part of the plan, Mr Hancock also revealed that the UK was creating a domestic PPE manufacturing industry - as it has done already with ventilators - and called for production companies to step up to help.
He said: "Many businesses have generously come forward to turn over production lines as part of this national effort.
"In particular, I want to thank Burberry with their offers of gowns, Rolls Royce and McLaren who are creating visors.
"We are talking to many others and we want more to step up to the plate.
"So if you have production facilities and you can meet our published technical specifications, we want to hear from you, so we can make this kit here in Britain."
Testing
The Health Secretary also promised that all key NHS and social care workers who need to be tested for Covid-19 will receive tests.
He said the Government now has the capacity to test all frontline staff who need it, amid significant numbers self-isolating for fear of having contracted Covid-19.
Mr Hancock said 15 testing drive-through centres had been opened across the UK to enable more testing for frontline staff.
These are in locations including Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Nottingham, Leeds and London.
And he said that two more "Lighthouse mega-labs" were on track in Cheshire and Glasgow, after he opened the first one in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
AstraZeneca and GSK were also opening another testing facility in Cambridge at the end of the month, he added.
Some 19,116 coronavirus tests were carried out on Thursday, of which 5,706 came back positive, he said.
The number of people in hospital who have tested positive for the disease stands at 19,304, of which 8,958 had died - an increase of 980 on the day before.
He added: "We never forget that behind this number, behind each one is a name, a loss, and a family that will never be the same again.
"And we all share a responsibility to tackle this virus, first and foremost by staying at home."
The goal remains to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month, Mr Hancock confirmed.
Lockdown
It comes after ministers appealed to public to stay at home for Easter amid fears the fine weather will cause people to flout social distancing rules.
Experts advising the Government on the crisis said the social-distancing measures introduced last month appeared to be working better than expected.
However they insisted there could be no relaxation of the restrictions until it was clear the peak of the epidemic was past.
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MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson had been discharged from intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital where he is being treated for the disease.
He has been able to do "short walks" between periods of rest as part of his care to aid his recovery, Downing Street has said.
Downing Street said that Mr Johnson was in "extremely good spirits" and would be receiving close monitoring during "the early phase of his recovery".
The Sun Says
WE welcome news that hospitals will soon be able to order PPE from an Amazon Prime-style delivery service.
Horror stories of medical staff donning bin bags and swimming goggles for protection undermined sincere messages of thanks from the Government, and made heroic doctors and nurses feel like lambs to the slaughter.
So it’s a huge relief that British manufacturers rose to the challenge of making protective clothing, and that the Health Secretary has figured out a way to get it delivered quickly and safely.
Now we hope and pray the scheme runs smoothly.
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