Millions of PPE items ordered for front-line staff through unique buying system, says region's mayor

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham says a taskforce for the area is purchasing the vital equipment directly, enabling it to get to those working to save lives.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy BurnhamGreater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham

Mr Burnham said 14.5m items of PPE kit had been ordered by the region.

He also praised mutual aid efforts to fill up stocks across Greater Manchester, saying Wigan's hospital trust had particularly seen the benefits of this.

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Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust recently secured equipment from Wigan Council, Wigan and Leigh College, Winstanley College, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Stockport Council, as well as from wet wipe manufacturer Nice-Pak International which is based in the town.

Mr Burnham said he had raised concerns about Greater Manchester having to rely on national pandemic stock supplies, particularly for social care.

Last week, only one in 10 of the masks ordered were actually received.

Had the region not been able to source its own supplies parts of the 10 boroughs which make up Greater Manchester would have run out of supplies towards the end of last week, he said.

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However, that has not been the case, with PPE being shared between NHS, social care, GMP and others where there is need. Any PPE provided by the NHS to other frontline services to deal with immediate shortages is replaced.

Mr Burnham said: "We are the only place with a devolved healthcare system. It is very integrated with strong relationships between hospitals and social care and local authorities.

"We are running a mutual aid system, where if hospitals have a bit of excess we are then bringing that into social care - it is a really positive way of working and it is because of the way Greater Manchester has been built over the years, the relationships are there to allow us to work in that way.”

So far Greater Manchester has received 3.6m items of PPE from the national pandemic stock and has ordered 14.5m items through direct procurement – 3.1m already delivered with 7.5m due to arrive within the next seven days.

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This has not been without its challenges too, with half a million surgical face masks held up at Heathrow Airport customs since last Thursday.

Mr Burnham said: “We have a consignment we bought ourselves sitting at Heathrow airport since Thursday, bogged down by bureaucracy. It's things like this that need to get unlocked much more quickly because we are doing our best. We are working constructively with Government but there does need to be more coordination between the national and local levels.”

The taskforce is made up of partners from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), MIDAS (Manchester’s inward investment agency with international business contacts), Growth Company, the Health and Social Care Partnership and local authorities,

There have also been donations including hand sanitiser, masks and overalls from members of the public and businesses,

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Mr Burnham said: "I’m proud of how our partners across Greater Manchester have come together to work in a coordinated way to make sure our frontline services have the vital PPE they need to do their jobs and I thank them for their Herculean efforts.

“We continue to order stock through the national supply system and the open market and through our system of mutual aid across the city-region, it allows us to be fleet-footed and move stock into places where there are pinch points. This shows how Greater Manchester is working together for the better."