Swann sees ‘sufficient supply’ of PPE arrive
THERE is “sufficient supply” of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers in Northern Ireland ahead of the coronavirus surge, Robin Swann has said.
The Health Minister was speaking as the first delivery of 5.5 million items of PPE arrived in Belfast.
Mr Swann saw the boxes of masks and aprons stacked high at one of the main distribution centres yesterday.
The first consignment included 1.3m aprons and 307,800 FFP3 respirator masks.
It comes after concern was expressed by nurses about the supply of FFP3 masks and the issue sparked rows within the Executive.
On Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that Northern Ireland would receive five million items of PPE.
The first batch arrived early yesterday with the remainder expected over the coming days.
Mr Swann visited the south Belfast warehouse which is part of the HSC’S Business Services Organisation.
He said there is “sufficient PPE supply” for the current demand and efforts will continue to actively model projected demand.
There is expected to be a second surge of Covid-19 later this year.
The minister also paid tribute to the teams “putting in a lot of time” to make sure the supply is distributed across the region.
“The challenge to us is to make sure we have the PPE in the right place at the right time, the stock is here to support our staff in what they are doing at this crucial time,” he said.
“I want to make clear that we have sufficient PPE supply for current demand and will continue to actively model projected and local.” The minister again acknowledged the concerns of workers on PPE.
“That’s why I’m here because I want to show those health staff we have the PPE here,” he said.
“I recognise that it’s not enough for me to simply say our stocks are significant or sufficient for
current pressures. We need to make sure our distribution and deployment to all frontline settings is the best it can be — and that all staff know where to turn within their organisations when they have concerns or questions.
“Frontline settings include hospitals, ambulance crews, primary care Covid centres, care homes, domiciliary care workers and other parts of the system where staff are working flat out to care for people.”
Newly updated Uk-wide NHS PPE guidance has been issued
in recent days, providing detailed guidelines on the types of PPE required for different clinical settings. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives were involved in developing the guidance.