Responding to the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 5 report, which covers the procurement and distribution of PPE and other supplies during the pandemic, BMA council deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick said:
“Today’s report charts the multiple failures and missed opportunities that left doctors unprotected and patients exposed during the pandemic.
“While the then Prime Minister said he would do “whatever it takes” to secure PPE supplies once Covid-19 arrived, the reality is that what it actually takes to protect both staff and patients is to be prepared in the first place. As the report describes in detail, the pre-pandemic PPE stockpile was far too small, much of it was reaching its use-by date and deteriorating, and there were no plans for how both procurement and distribution would work in a crisis on the scale of Covid-19.
“This cost valuable time, resources and ultimately lives, once the pandemic was here. Tragedy on the scale we saw was avoidable.
“Pandemic preparedness exercises were ignored, and assumptions about the type of disease we could face and how we might need to protect people against it were restrictive. It was assumed that PPE would only be needed in hospitals, and with symptomatic patients, explaining why our GP colleagues were left with no protection as often asymptomatic patients sought help in their surgeries.
“The report notes that pre-pandemic decisions were taken as they were ‘considered to be cost effective’. Yet multiple failures meant the Government not only left people dangerously unprotected, but wasted £10bn doing so.
“What we saw unfold was an omnishambles; a scramble in procurement, supply and distribution, resulting in chaotic and slapdash approaches to try to get PPE to those who needed it.
“Yet we know they often didn’t receive it. Time and time again, from the beginning of the pandemic, and right through the multiple waves of 2020, doctors and our colleagues were left without the PPE needed to protect them and their patients from a fatal disease. This impact was uneven, with women and ethnic minority doctors either unable to access suitable fitting PPE, or indeed, facing greater pressure to work without proper protection. It is good therefore to see a recommendation from Baroness Hallett that PPE supplies must take into account the diversity of the health and social care workforce.
“While politicians have talked about PPE supplies never running out nationally, the report underlines that they were effectively rationed. Supplies were deliberately limited, guidelines were rewritten, we were forced to rely on out-of-date PPE and substandard PPE was distributed.
“The report makes a number of positive recommendations around preparation and the country’s ability to respond to the next pandemic, but it is shocking, six years on to see in black and white that still not enough is being done to ensure both the size and quality of the PPE stockpile, or prepare more widely.
“A new pandemic, as well as wider global risks in an increasingly hostile world, remain very real threats to our healthcare systems and the safety of our population. Yet we remain unprepared - both in terms of supplies like PPE, but also in the state of the very buildings we work in, the facilities to provide critical care, and the staffing capacity we have to treat people.
“Preparing for the next crisis is not a problem that can wait.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.