MORE than ten million face masks are stuck at Prestwick airport because of an administrative error.
Around 200,000 boxes containing vital Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and thousands of coronavirus tests arrived on a flight from China last Friday.
But when Scottish Government drivers went to the Ayrshire airport to pick up the cargo they were turned away because of incorrect labels on the boxes.
According to the Sun, which first reported the story, the equipment was due to be sent to NHS depots in Lanarkshire.
The paper’s source said: “The trucks were ready to deliver to Lanarkshire that day and on Saturday but the NHS told the people at Prestwick Airport that it wasn’t going anywhere.
“The reason given was the boxes containing the relevant kit should have labels on the outside instead of inside the box.”
READ MORE: Jeane Freeman says work is under way to resolve PPE labelling issue
Their insider said boxes would need to be opened and labels put on the outside before they are distributed.
The source added: “These new labels have to come from China.
“All because the NHS has said it’s not their responsibility to open the lid and look at the label on the inside of the lid — it has to be on the outside of the lid.
“It’s astonishing, given how urgent the gear is needed.”
The Scottish Government said the PPE was “timed to arrive substantially in advance of when it will actually be needed for distribution”.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman confirmed the Scottish Government knew in advance that inadequate labelling might be a problem, but decided it was better to have the kit in Scotland than on the runway in China.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford calls on PM to 'clamp down' on conflicting messages
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Freeman said: “This is a really important shipment for us. It contains 10m fluid-resistant masks. It also has 20,000 testing kits that are important.
“Also in the shipment is a million of those fluid-resistant masks which are bound for NHS Wales. So it is important.
“What we knew was that it was possible that the fact that the shipment didn’t have a label on the boxes, but had a note inside the boxes, may not be sufficient to clear them out of the airport and get them to where we need them to be.
“But we took the view that it was better to have that aircraft with that important cargo sitting on a runway in an airport in Scotland than sitting on the runway in China.
“So we now have it here. It has all that important cargo. The work is underway to resolve the issue around labelling. We expect that to be completed this week, and at that point the cargo will then be redistributed.
“For NHS Scotland it is not immediately needed on the front line, but it will add importantly to our stockpile.”
READ MORE: UK Government: Social distancing benefit beginning to be felt
At the briefing Freeman also revealed that more than 22,000 students and returning health and social care workers have come forward to support the NHS.
The health secretary also revealed that a total of 1249 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, a rise of 18.
The number of people who have tested positive for the virus is 10,324, up 273.
Meanwhile, the SNP has dismissed criticism of Nicola Sturgeon for missing five Cobra meetings.
The Sunday Mail initially reported that the First Minister had missed the crucial leader calls on six occasions as the Covid-19 pandemic outlook became ever clearer.
The Scottish Government said this was only because Health Secretary Jeane Freeman was more relevant to the meetings.
It comes a week after Boris Johnson was criticised by the SNP’s Ian Blackford for missing Cobra meetings.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel