‘Good supply’ of PPE after public donations
Reporter: Charlotte Green
Date published: 20 April 2020
Town hall chiefs had been appealing for the public to donate personal protective equipment
There is now a ‘good stock’ of protective equipment in Oldham after donations and council bosses say there should be ‘no situation’ where care workers aren’t protected.
Town hall chiefs had been appealing for the public to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) which could be used by front-line workers to to keep them safe from coronavirus.
PPE includes disposable aprons, latex or nitrile gloves, face masks, hand sanitiser and eye protection.
The vital equipment can stop the Covid-19 virus spreading between people via moisture droplets, and is especially important for dealing with patients with the infection.
But the council has confirmed it has now got a ‘good supply’ of PPE after donations, including goggles used in college science lessons, and is not currently appealing for more.
An emergency hub set up by the town hall has distributed thousands of items since the appeal began.
A spokesperson said: “We would like to thank everyone who has contributed and donated PPE.
“There are now good stock levels in Oldham, and donations are no longer needed at this time.
“A PPE distribution hub has been set up to provide emergency stock to health and social care providers who have been unable to secure stock through usual routes.
“So far it has distributed just under 200,000 individual items, including eye protection.
“It continues to have good stock levels of gloves, aprons, masks and eye protection available for health and social care services to use, and so there should be no situation in Oldham where health and social care providers delivering essential personal or clinical care do not have access to these items to protect themselves and those they are caring for.”
It comes after nurses, doctors and carers across the UK complained that they have not been equipped with the correct protective clothing when treating or providing care to coronavirus patients.
Oldham’s chief executive Carolyn Wilkins had described the provision of PPE as a ‘real challenge’.
Collection from the hub is available between 12pm and 5pm, seven days a week.
Providers can make requests to access the emergency stock by contacting: pperequest@oldham.gov.uk
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