Care home providers are still having to secure their own supplies of personal protective equipment because a promised delivery system cannot get the volumes they need to them, industry insiders have warned.
The delivery system, contracted to Clipper Logistics at the end of March, was designed to ease the shortages in care homes as well as supply pharmacies and GPs.
Ministers warned last week that the national rollout for the system, which is being piloted, was still weeks away. Some of those involved in the pilot said it was only supplying a fraction of the PPE required. One care provider requiring more than 35,000 face masks a week said they had received only 400.
Other providers said they were trying to secure their own supplies, but were having to pay inflated prices, and were treating national supplies as a “last resort” that they could not rely on. Some said they had been warned that the distribution system was already struggling with supplies of masks.
The new online system is catering for about 1,400 providers. However, there are well over 50,000 primary, social care and community care providers across Britain. Liz Jones, policy director at the National Care Forum, said: “The issue is when it can be ramped up both in terms of the people registered to use it, and ordering the quantities they actually need. Providers have had to look at other avenues – and, in reality, pay a lot more.”
Andy White, director of procurement at the care home provider MHA, said: “Given that we are still being forced to buy PPE on the open market to protect our staff and residents, that demonstrates that the NHS is still being prioritised, despite the apparent recognition that care homes are now the front line.”
Peter Kyle, the Labour MP who has been sounding the alarm on PPE in care homes, warned that it would become much harder for them to find supplies on the open market as businesses reopened and joined the rush to buy protective equipment.
“Once demand rises for PPE as people return to work and secure it for personal use, health and social care could end up in an ‘everyone for themselves’ scramble – the very situation we need to avoid.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are working around the clock to ensure that PPE is delivered as quickly as possible to those on the front line of this global pandemic. Our PPE portal is currently being tested with a range of health and social care providers, and the data from this pilot will be used to inform the national rollout on a wider scale. As of 5 May, over 400,000 pieces of PPE have been delivered.”