'Government must provide incentives for NHS supply chain to buy PPE from UK companies'

Arco has welcomed the findings of a report published by the Public Accounts Committee that looked into the Government’s response to the demand for PPE during the pandemic.

Arco published its own report which offers insight into its own experiences dealing with Government bodies and other agencies as part of the PPE supply chain. It proposes a 10-point set of recommendations to prevent a repeat of the problems that were seen during the first wave of the crisis and to ensure the country has improved protection in a future pandemic.

Bosses at Arco, which has 135 years of experience in keeping people safe at work, said they were pleased to see that the committee’s report supports its own recommendations.

The report said it was concerned about the “inadequacy” of the Covid-19 pandemic PPE stockpile and the need to improve the management and distribution of compliant stock.

It also highlighted what it described as the failures of the procurement portal to sift credible offers of PPE from reputable suppliers from those offered by “dubious sources”. It said there was a need to improve this for future emergencies and pandemics.

Arco also called for a plan to show how the Government will use the PPE that has been procured during the pandemic.

It also expressed concerns about stock allocation and the handling of unused stock.

The company also recommended that the Government sets out plans to incentivise the NHS supply chain and trusts to buy PPE manufactured in the UK.

In a statement, Arco said: “The report also recognises that hundreds of millions of pounds has been wasted on poor quality PPE that cannot be used for the intended purpose and recommends analysis and reporting of the extent of this failing.

“Arco would urge that this is taken further to ensure this cannot happen again and recommends that the Government should consult on whether PPE suppliers should be formally registered to be allowed to supply Category II and III products.

"Registration would ensure that a supplier is capable of providing compliant product, while market surveillance... would ensure suppliers live up to these commitments.”

Thomas Martin, chairman of Hull-based Arco, said: “From the outset, we were both disappointed with the inadequacies of the procurement system and deeply concerned by some of the unnecessary mistakes made across the UK through a lack of experience of procuring the PPE needed. This is something the Government has acknowledged, and has been reflected in media coverage, through the National Audit Report, and now through the findings and recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee.”

He added: “We are pleased that many of the conclusions made by the Public Accounts Committee support those Arco reached when we commissioned our position paper last summer, to look at the lessons that need to be learned from the pandemic.

“As an established safety business that has provided critical support in the international SARS, swine flu and Ebola crises, we feel it’s our duty to report on our experiences and to support the Government in continuing to help deal with the pandemic by sharing our expertise.

“We are grateful for the invitation we have received from the Minister to build on the dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care, and look forward to contributing our resources to ensure that the committee’s recommendations are acted upon so the nation can be better prepared for future emergencies.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have been working tirelessly to procure, produce and deliver PPE to over 58,000 settings, protecting our health and social care staff on the frontline of this pandemic.

“As the Public Accounts Committee recognises, the Government faced significant challenges in having to rapidly procure PPE at pace in a competitive international market. Thanks to the combined effort of Government, NHS, Armed Forces, civil servants and industry we have delivered over 8.4 billion items of PPE at record speed.

“We have a robust processes in place to ensure PPE meet the strictest safety and quality standards before being distributed to the frontline.”

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