SCOTLAND’S central stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) ran “very low” in the early stages of the pandemic, a report has found, while the surge in prices cost the NHS £37.4 million more than normal for the kit.
Audit Scotland has released its long-awaited report into how the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) managed PPE arrangements.
A similar study carried out at a UK level by the National Audit Office found the UK spent £10 billion extra in inflated prices for PPE due to an “inadequate” stockpile and the surge in global demand early in the pandemic.
The Audit Scotland report, released today, reiterated its earlier finding that the Scottish Government did not fully implement recommendations from pandemic preparedness exercises.
It also said the Government could have done more to ensure access to PPE and training in its use.
As global demand surged and overseas factories closed, PPE prices doubled in early 2020.
The report said: “Had NHS NSS been able to buy PPE at the same prices as 2019, it would have spent £37.4m less on PPE stock in the first five months of the pandemic.”
Centrally-held stocks of certain key items were “very low” in April 2020, with just 0.3 days’ worth of long-sleeved gowns stored by NSS.
However individual health boards may have had additional supplies of PPE items, the report noted.
The report went on to say that 78 contracts worth £340m were awarded to companies providing PPE between March 2020 and June 2021. A total of 29 of these contracts, worth £98m, were awarded to new suppliers with no competition.
Stephen Boyle, auditor general for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland worked well together under extremely challenging circumstances to set up new arrangements for the supply and distribution of PPE to health and social care settings.”
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