Firm told PPE supply ‘is not needed’
ABUSINESS has said it can produce 100,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) masks a day - but that the NHS and government have declined to take them up on the offer.
Packaging company AH Formes, based in Altham, is one of many businesses throughout the country that have registered to offer their services during the coronavirus pandemic.
But after two phone calls from the government and NHS on April 22, the business says it was told their supply was not needed, despite being able to produce 100,000 PPE masks every single day.
Company director Gary Addison said the whole situation has left him “frustrated”.
He said: “At the moment we’re producing 20,000 visors daily but we have capacity for 100,000 a day. Yesterday we took a few calls, one from the Department of Health and one from the NHS crisis team, both within 10 minutes of each other.
“The questions were a lot of tick boxes - ‘are you a manufacturer?’, that kind of thing. Then the question went to myself about how many masks do we currently have.
“My colleague Stephen Lord said around 250,000. I said 300,000 based on what we were scheduled to make. But we were told we don’t meet the criteria. When I asked what the criteria was they said they couldn’t divulge that information.
“But from my own research I think businesses need around one million. I think the figures are too high. I said, ‘if I had one million masks here you could already have them’.”
Gary has sent more than 60 emails to NHS trusts around the country asking if they need PPE that they can produce.
“We’ve had lots asking for samples,” he explained.
“But now they’ve all pulled back.”
Since then the company has had an enquiry from NHS Scotland over providing PPE masks to its doctors and nurses.
Gary, from Accrington, said: “We had an email this morning [April 23] saying they were desperate, can we send them some samples, and what is the absolute best price we can do. But we’re still a business at the end of the day. I’m trying to take people off of furlough and keep people in work at a good rate in very troubled times.”
As well as the commercial side of things, Gary and his team are also making regular donations in the community, including to care homes and councils.
The 54-year-old explained: “How can I charge people asking for 10 masks in a care home? We’re also donating to councils and county councils, including Lancashire County Council, but nothing directly to the NHS.”
This week the team has donated masks to Hyndburn Borough Council to use at Peel House Medical Practice in Accrington.
It has also given 500 masks to Ribble FM to distribute in the local community.
He explained that even in its current limited operation, the business has produced 20,000 masks, which were made, packaged and delivered in 24 hours.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment. An NHS spokesman did not comment and referred the Observer to the Department of Health and Social Care.