PPE: NEW. Body bags are new shortage. NHS buys from China. Supply short/running out. NHS managers calling UK factories. 1 factory making for 6 trusts at huge loss but doing it. One NHS manager was so desperate searched the Go Outdoors website for help/ideas (1)

The factory making the body bags used to make them in UK. But govt forced them to cut its prices. Couldn’t afford to make in UK so opened factory in India so could keep supplying PPE. 100 UK machinists lost their jobs (2)

Spoke to head of finance (COO) for major hospital trust group. In TOTAL DESPAIR. His hospitals received 600 disposable gowns on Monday from a UK shipment of 180k. They used them in 1.5 days. Staff using bin bags to stay safe. (3)

He says govt INADEQUATE STRATEGIC PLANNING & no stockpiling in event of pandemic. Says there has been no overall demand plan and COMPLETE FAILURE to work with health and care system. He had to ask local colleges for goggles. (4)

Here is an example of comment I received this week. I had nurses messaging me on Instagram saying how worried they are. They’re told PPE is coming and army helping, but they don’t feel it appears (5)

I’ve asked the government for a response on 2 occasions to their management of PPE situation. My requests were ignored this week about amongst many things how MoD now running procurement and involvement of Deloittle (6)

Last week I reported on UK factories being asked by @cabinetoffice to help. This situation is still not resolved. @makeitbritish set up UK supply chain to make gowns and scrubs, still not given instruction to proceed (7)

Manufacturers and NHS COO despair the government is flying in millions of single use plastic items from China. They say often rubbish quality instead of starting to manufacture quality UK garments and use thousands of furloughed workers (8)

Some UK factories are making for individual NHS hospitals & 3rd party suppliers. Here is my critical home carer mum in a shield made in UK last week. Ambulance drivers who came to assist her with a patient didn’t have them. (9)