PPE is still a frigging joke in this country.

[zahir]

Labour MP Nadia Whittome sacked as carer for speaking out about PPE shortages

EXCLUSIVE: The Nottingham East MP returned to the frontline when covid-19 hit in order to use her experience as a care worker. But she has now lost her job after voicing concerns about the safety of staff

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[WouldBe]

Just been on C4 news that 45% of stockpiled PPE has expired. Including gowns and surgical masks. Now I can understand latex gloves being a problem as the latex may have gone off and they would fall apart when you try to put them on. But how does material go off when people are still wearing clothes from the 50's/60's or even Victorian era? I can understand the elastic perishing but manufacturers still make knicker elastic so it could be quickly and easily replaced.

 

[elbows]

Part of the standards/certifying of various protective equipment probably routinely involves having use by dates for things. I know that earlier in the pandemic the USA looked at a lot of 'expired' N95 masks, basically they put them through the tests again to see if they were still performing as required. Most of them were, so they released them. Factors like storage conditions, temperature etc could affect things.

I'm sure there are plenty of examples that will seem absurd, but it is understandable from a standards point of view. A somewhat sane system would have a method to re-certify such equipment so that it doesnt go to waste.

 

[weltweit]

Also, I think I posted this in the UK thread, but remember that shipment of PPE from Turkey. Most of it failed our standards checks and hasn't been given out to NHS staff.

 

[WouldBe]

A somewhat sane system would have a method to re-certify such equipment so that it doesnt go to waste.

They have recertified some. Some items were 3000 days past their 'best by date'.
It would help if they rotated the stock to use the oldest stuff first to avoid this happening in the first place.

 

[elbows]

They have recertified some. Some items were 3000 days past their 'best by date'.
It would help if they rotated the stock to use the oldest stuff first to avoid this happening in the first place.

Ah yes, I remember. A sane system should probably not crudely stick new dates on with the old ones still visible, undermining faith in the equipment by those who have to rely on it.

 

[LDC]

Letter to HMG from a load of UK PPE manufacturers. WTF is going on here?

 

[WouldBe]

Letter to HMG from a load of UK PPE manufacturers. WTF is going on here?

Stupidity by the government and civil service.

 

[Chilli.s]

Only want to order off party donors.

 

[zahir]

Revealed: NHS denied PPE at height of Covid-19 as supplier prioritised China

Disclosures call into question UK’s reliance on ‘just in time’ logistics during pandemic

www.theguardian.com

The NHS was deprived of large amounts of protective gear at the height of the coronavirus outbreak after a French company contracted to supply millions of masks allegedly prioritised more lucrative deals with deep-pocketed clients including a Chinese state-owned energy company.

documents seen by the Guardian and Mediapart suggest that rather than prioritising the NHS the company increased production for other customers as mask prices soared. A person familiar with Valmy’s negotiations with the NHS said it waited “quite a long time before responding to the NHS’s request because they could sell at far better prices on other markets”.

The disclosures raise questions about the UK government’s reliance on “just in time” logistics to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) in a pandemic situation. The arrangements, common in the manufacturing and retail sectors, were introduced in 2017 to reduce the cost of maintaining a large PPE stockpile.

According to two senior NHS procurement officials, “just in time” PPE contracts encountered significant difficulties in the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak. Amid a surge in global demand for PPE, the guarantees to supply the NHS were at the mercy of chaotic international supply chains, ruthless market practices and protectionism.

“All of the comfort blankets we thought we had basically went up in flames,” one of the officials said.

 

[two sheds]

A bit fucking late now but if they were real 'guarantees' to supply the NHS you'd hope some punitive compensation would follow, particularly for families who lost front-line workers.

 

[zahir]

The idea that just in time contracts could be enforced at the height of a pandemic though.

 

[elbows]

The idea that just in time contracts could be enforced at the height of a pandemic though.

The public inquiry will inevitably come up with a long list of recommendations, a significant proportion of which will probably be in the 'no shit sherlock' category. Some or all of the grotesque PPE failings will be in that category.

 

[Pickman's model]

The public inquiry will inevitably come up with a long list of recommendations, a significant proportion of which will probably be in the 'no shit sherlock' category. Some or all of the grotesque PPE failings will be in that category.

i predict recommendation one will be never let an auld etonian near number 10 ever again

 

[elbows]

i predict recommendation one will be never let an auld etonian near number 10 ever again

How come, have you gotten word that the inquiry chair will be an auld Harrovian or Wykehamist?

 

[Struwwelpeter]

i predict recommendation one will be never let an auld etonian near number 10 ever again

If only. I predict large amounts of whitewash will be splashed over anything to to do with politicians and it will be blamed on (in approximate order):

1. Foreigners, except Americans
2. Civil servants and the liberal elite
3. Disloyal Labour party traitors
4. Trade Unions trying to undermine the country
5. Front line workers with no sense of duty

 

[Sue]

How come, have you gotten word that the inquiry chair will be an auld Harrovian or Wykehamist?

I used to work with a man who was thick as mince (that's actually massively insulting to mince) and had only got where he was work-wise through his connections. (And not just thick but lazy and sexist too. ) His oft-repeated 'jape' was about how Boris has gone to the wrong school, the right school (obviously) being Harrow which is where he'd gone. Given how often he repeated this, you'd almost think he wanted us all to know he'd gone to Harrow. And to know it very, very regularly indeed.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Threadreader version: Thread by @JolyonMaugham: Coming up: the most extraordinary thread I’ve ever written. On how we blew over £150m and Andrew Mills (a Government adviser) seems to have…

 

[two sheds]

E-mail this morning from Good Law Project summarizing that (extra bits including the one I've bolded):

The Government awarded a PPE contract worth £252 million to Ayanda Capital Limited, a ‘family office’ owned through a tax haven in Mauritius, with connections to Liz Truss. It is the largest PPE contract we have seen to date.

In response to judicial review proceedings issued by Good Law Project, the Government has admitted that the 50 million FFP2 masks they purchased from Ayanda Capital – for a price that we calculate to be between £156m and £177m – “will not be used in the NHS” because “there was concern as to whether the[y]… provided an adequate fixing.”

So, unless Government finds another use for, or seeks to sell, those unsuitable masks, that money has been wasted. And as for the remaining 150 million Type IIR masks purchased from Ayanda Capital? Government has admitted they also require further testing and have not been released for use in the NHS.

We have also unearthed another absolutely remarkable feature of the £252 million Ayanda contract. Matt Hancock’s lawyers have now admitted they planned to enter into that contract with a £100 company wholly owned by Liz Truss' adviser Andrew Mills and his wife. Mr Mills asked - and Government agreed - to enter into it with Ayanda instead because the £100 company (Prospermill Limited) didn’t have “international payment infrastructure.” Just how much has this arrangement prospered Mills?

Good Law Project and EveryDoctor has now issued three sets of judicial review proceedings in relation to the procurement of PPE - with a pest controller, a confectioner, and Ayanda/Prospermill. Not one of those contracts has resulted in any PPE yet being released for use in the NHS. The entirety of the PPE delivered under these three contracts is either untested or has already been found to be unusable.

These are the facts – and they are not disputed.

The more we scratch the surface of the PPE fiasco, the more shocking the details that emerge. If we are to prevent more PPE failures and protect public funds, we need proper answers from this Government. With your support, we intend to get them. If you are in a position to do so, you can donate to the legal challenge here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/108million

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Prospermill

If I was Mr & Mrs Mills, and wanted to set up a shell company to line my own pockets via dodgy government contracts, I'd like to think I would have chosen a less transparently obvious company name.

 

[Dogsauce]

“We send £350 million per week to opaque companies connected to government ministers. Take Back Controlhanders”

 

[Bollox]

Its the same across much of the globe, the American model of ultra-capitalism has thrived as it embraces the strongest human quality of self preservation from which greed derives.
Corruption and cronyism are keystones of economies across the globe, I do wonder just how bad it needs to get before things explode but know that the UK will not be amongst the first to rise up, we just put up forums to whinge about it

 

[WouldBe]

Return to supplier for a refund and don't put a stamp on it.

 

[MrSki]

Rees-Mogg refuses debate on contracts in Govt. time. I am amazed that the cunt can say this whilst keeping a straight face.

 

[zahir]

A feel good story - not that it should really be up to refugees to deal with PPE shortages.

 

[StoneRoad]

I'll bet that there will be a lot of "lessons to be learned" whitewash over this PPE.

And it will exclude examining the blatant profiteering that went (& is still going) on.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Government Buys PPE Made by Uyghur Muslims Under Chinese Labour Programme

The conditions of the Uyghurs forced to work in factories “strongly suggest forced labour”, Sam Bright reports

bylinetimes.com

 

[elbows]

Coronavirus: Safety officials had 'political' pressure to approve PPE

Emails reveal how officials described pressure to approve protective suits for the NHS.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[teqniq]

I thought of posting this in the Michele Mone thread or even the Establishment networking one, but the linked vid deals specifically with the PPE procurement issue and not just with PPE Medpro. It's nearly 40 minutes long, from Sam Bright a journalist who has done extensive investigation into the the PPE scandal.

Tl;dr:

Are we likely to get all or some of our money back? No
Is anyone likely to receive a criminal conviction because of it? No.

VIDEO - The Truth About the PPE Scandal

I explain what happened during the early months of the pandemic, and why Tory donors ended up with billions in taxpayer-funded contracts...

writesbright.substack.com

 

[StoneRoad]

I'll bet that there will be a lot of "lessons to be learned" whitewash over this PPE.

And it will exclude examining the blatant profiteering that went (& is still going) on.

Especially by Mone, who may well "get away with" her [ill-gotten] gains, all £60 million ...

Getting anything back & getting them clink time seem to be far, far away land.