Latest news with #FFP3
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Scotland avoided PPE ‘VIP lane' due to devolution, UK Covid-19 Inquiry told
Former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman has told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry she believed Scotland avoided a 'VIP lane' for procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) due to devolution. Ms Freeman was 'politically responsible for making sure the health workforce had access to PPE', the inquiry heard, during evidence around procurement of PPE. Giving evidence, Ms Freeman praised NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and said it was 'minimising the cost of procurement because you're doing it at such scale', although she acknowledged the country 'often came close' to running out of key items. She rejected claims from former prime minister Boris Johnson that the UK 'should have one single route', the inquiry heard. Counsel for the inquiry Tom Stoate said: 'The inquiry has heard about the evidence of a high priority or VIP lane for procurement of PPE. You've talked about how NSS worked. Did that mean Scotland needed a fast-track system?' Ms Freeman said: 'Absolutely not. We had offers of help, all of which were passed to NSS. A proper triage process would apply.' She said that 'due diligence' would be applied 'to help decide whether new offers were appropriate to award new contracts'. Ms Freeman added: 'Audit Scotland said in 2021 there was no evidence of bias. We did not have a VIP lane and did not need one. 'My view is there are many questions to be asked about the VIP lane and application of due diligence and probity to any offer of supply when you are using public money, and when quality and appropriateness of PPE is critical to safety of your staff and patients they are treating.' Mr Stoate asked: 'Did Scotland run out of key items of PPE?' Ms Freeman said: 'No. We are saying we did not run out at any point; we often came close.' Asked about a statement from Mr Johnson that 'we should try to proceed as one UK' regarding procurement, Ms Freeman said: 'If what the former PM means is we should have single procurement route, I don't agree. 'I think it removes the democratic accountability of devolution of the Scottish Government, secondly the route UK Government took with the VIP lane is not one I would wish Scotland to take. 'Having a single system could lead to a system where Scottish ministers are responsible for actions in which they have no say.' Caroline Lamb, chief executive of NHS Scotland and director general of Health and Social Care, told the inquiry that around 75,000 NHS staff have now been 'fit-tested' for FFP3 masks in the wake of the pandemic, compared to around 7,000 prior to it. Giving evidence, she said that in May 2020 Scotland provided two million FFP3 masks to England and another two million to Wales. Ms Lamb said: 'May was in the period when everyone was working really hard to provide PPE needed. As soon as we had that comfort we could provide what was needed in Scotland, we were very keen to provide mutual aid to other nations. 'The relationships at an official level were never bad, but what improved was that recognition that collaboration is great but you need to be equal partners in that collaboration and accept everybody's skills and expertise.' She added: 'Scotland's share of the UK stockpile was not big enough to cope with the scale of pandemic we experienced. We have worked hard now to put in place surge capacity. 'Just in time' may work when demand is fairly predictable, but we need to have in place ability to surge up stock to meet demand.' Under cross-examination from Leslie Thomas KC, representing the Federation of Ethnic Minority Health Organisations, she said efforts had been stepped up to 'fit-test' PPE for NHS staff. Ms Lamb said: 'What became clear in pandemic is one size doesn't necessarily fit all and there was an issue for minority ethnic groups and women; there is a different range of fits available, we also worked closely with a supplier in Scotland to understand the demographics – not just understanding supply but that the people who need that supply have been fit-tested. 'The numbers have gone from 7,000 fit-tested pre-pandemic to around 75,000 in 2023. 'It's not just about having the confidence you've got supply to meet people's needs, it's that they're comfortable they can meet people's needs.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police may have been pandemic ‘super-spreaders' according to union
Police officers may have acted as 'super-spreaders' in the pandemic as expert advice was 'ignored' by the Scottish Government and the ex-chief constable of Police Scotland, an inquiry heard. Calum Steele, ex-general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), former chairman David Hamilton, and vice chairman Brian Jones, gave evidence at the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday and condemned decisions from the Scottish Government and ex-Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone. A Scottish Government decision not to prioritise frontline police during the vaccine rollout was branded 'perverse' and a 'betrayal', with one officer attending 75 callouts to different households in a single weekend, the inquiry heard. Allegations that Sir Iain rejected calls for frontline officers to be given spare vaccines, refused to issue reusable rubber masks used by officers in Northern Ireland due to appearance, and refused an alternative to roadside breath-testing despite concerns about Covid-19 transmission were aired at the inquiry. Giving evidence, union leaders said ex-Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf branded the SPF a 'disgrace', recalled they were a 'pain in the backside', and the conflict 'became personal', while evidence from a panel of experts commissioned by the SPF was met with 'suspicion' and 'ignored' by the government. Mr Steele told the inquiry Police Scotland 'substantially absolved itself of health and safety responsibility' regarding adequacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), despite an agreement before lockdown that FFP3 masks would be issued. He said the force 'refused' to log the rate of usage, and the risks were 'exacerbated' by using the same mask throughout a shift – while another trade unionist said a 'cost-effective' alternative was rejected due to appearance. Mr Steele said: 'The issue of FFP3 masks is probably the best example of the police service knowing it has a health and safety obligation and then ignoring it. We were largely dealing with people who were not complying with restrictions, people sceptical of the pandemic and therefore at greater risk. 'If a police officer attended an address that required them to wear an FFP3 mask, a risk assessment said it should be discarded. But the police service was not counting the masks that were being burned through.' He said officers were 'reusing the mask at other addresses, making physical contact with the mask with their fingertips, the risk was exacerbated', and that calls to log the burn rate were 'refused', the inquiry heard. Mr Steele added: 'One of my colleagues went to 75 different households in one weekend. We were worried about acting as super-spreaders and have evidence that happened.' Mr Jones said: 'There were other items that would have saved money. The Police Service of Northern Ireland bought a rubber mask which can be cleaned. That was thought to be militaristic. That was the decision of the chief constable at the time.' The use of FFP3 masks was 'constantly criticised' due to the needs of frontline medics, the inquiry heard. The SPF called for roadside breath tests to be replaced, and Mr Steele described the 'totally dismissive' response as 'institutional dishonesty', and said Police Scotland 'took 'absence of evidence' as 'absence of risk',' the inquiry heard. Mr Steele said: 'We had advice from experts there was a risk from aerosols. This was introducing risk. We suggested we should take a different approach, taking an assessment of if someone is under the influence and taking them back for analysis. 'The response from the police service was totally dismissive.' Mr Hamilton added: 'It showed the force in a quite ugly way. We always accepted we had a job to do but we could minimise the risks.' He said it was 'wholly inappropriate' that frontline officers were not given priority during the vaccine rollout, and alleged that Sir Iain refused to allow officers to use spare jabs, saying: 'It's bad optics,' the inquiry heard. Mr Hamilton added: 'Frontline officers tended to be the youngest and the last to get it. I would have given my vaccine to someone in their 20s. Those most at risk were last to get it. It was a Scottish Government choice not to vaccinate police officers they accepted were high risk.' Mr Steele said: 'That remains one of the most perverse decisions that really reinforced that they were casually disregarded. It had a really damaging impact on institutions of the state including their employer, the chief constable, to look after them.' The inquiry continues before Lord Brailsford in Edinburgh.
Sky News
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Police Scotland officers may have been COVID pandemic 'super-spreaders', inquiry hears
Police Scotland officers may have acted as "super-spreaders" during the pandemic as expert advice was "ignored" by the Scottish government and the force's ex-chief constable, an inquiry heard. Calum Steele, ex-general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), former chairman David Hamilton, and vice chairman Brian Jones gave evidence at the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry on Monday. A Scottish government decision not to prioritise frontline police during the vaccine rollout was branded "perverse", with one officer attending 75 callouts to different households in a single weekend, the inquiry heard. Allegations that ex-chief constable Sir Iain Livingstone rejected calls for frontline officers to be given spare vaccines, refused to issue reusable rubber masks used by officers in Northern Ireland due to appearance, and refused an alternative to roadside breath testing despite concerns about COVID transmission were also aired at the inquiry. Giving evidence, union leaders said ex-justice secretary Humza Yousaf branded the SPF a "disgrace", recalled they were a "pain in the backside", and the conflict "became personal", while evidence from a panel of experts commissioned by the SPF was met with "suspicion" and "ignored" by the government. Mr Steele said Police Scotland "substantially absolved itself of health and safety responsibility" regarding adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), despite an agreement before lockdown that FFP3 masks would be issued. He said the force "refused" to log the rate of usage, and the risks were "exacerbated" by using the same mask throughout a shift. Mr Steele said: "The issue of FFP3 masks is probably the best example of the police service knowing it has a health and safety obligation and then ignoring it. "We were largely dealing with people who were not complying with restrictions, people sceptical of the pandemic and therefore at greater risk. "If a police officer attended an address that required them to wear an FFP3 mask, a risk assessment said it should be discarded. But the police service was not counting the masks that were being burned through." He claimed officers were reusing the mask at other addresses, and that "making physical contact with the mask with their fingertips, the risk was exacerbated". Mr Steele said: "One of my colleagues went to 75 different households in one weekend. We were worried about acting as super-spreaders and have evidence that happened." Mr Jones claimed there were other items "that would have saved money". He said: "The Police Service of Northern Ireland bought a rubber mask which can be cleaned. That was thought to be militaristic. That was the decision of the chief constable at the time." The SPF also called for roadside breath tests to be replaced amid transmission concerns, but the response from the police service was said to be "totally dismissive". Mr Hamilton said: "It showed the force in a quite ugly way. We always accepted we had a job to do but we could minimise the risks." Mr Hamilton further said it was "wholly inappropriate" frontline officers were not given priority during the vaccine rollout, as he alleged Sir Iain refused to allow officers to use spare jabs, citing "it's bad optics". Mr Hamilton said: "Frontline officers tended to be the youngest and the last to get it. I would have given my vaccine to someone in their 20s. "Those most at risk were last to get it. It was a Scottish government choice not to vaccinate police officers they accepted were high risk." Mr Steele added: "That remains one of the most perverse decisions that really reinforced that they were casually disregarded." The inquiry, before Lord Brodie, continues.
