Care Homes: Coronavirus

(asked on 13th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made for the implications for his policy on the personal protective equipment (PPE) to care homes of the Alzheimer’s Society survey, published 13 May 2020, that found 43 per cent of care homes reported that they did not have adequate supplies of PPE.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 21st May 2020

Supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the care sector is fundamental for both the good care of individuals with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 and equally vital to protect the care workers in social care settings.

To address this, the Government has stepped up support, supply and distribution of PPE to the care sector. As of 8 May, we have released 60.9 million items of PPE to designated wholesalers for onward sale to social care providers. In addition, between 6 April and 12 May, we have delivered over 94 million items of PPE across 38 Local Resilience Forums to respond to spikes in need.

Working with care sector representative bodies, PHE published tailored guidance: ‘COVID-19 How to work safely in care homes’ on 17 April, as well as a specialised training video demonstrating the donning and doffing of PPE in care home settings. The PHE guidance also provides tables on when and which PPE to use.

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