The heads of procurement at 14 trusts and their teams have been asked to help purchase PPE domestically and internationally on behalf of the UK, as part of the cross-government operation. Each have been given a specific types of equipment to buy.
The move comes only days after trusts were told to leave placing large orders for PPE to the centre.
Senior procurement sources suggested the move was a sign of an “obviously struggling” central operation. The government and central procurement body NHS Supply Chain have faced weeks of criticism over PPE shortages.
Several providers, including Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital, and Royal Free London foundation trusts, have shared large PPE orders nationally in recent weeks.
PPE senior responsible officers Jonathan Marron and Emily Lawson, at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England respectively, recently told trusts they were in the process of appointing some procurement directors to a national team. The 1 May letter also banned trust from bulk-buying their own PPE apart from with “new, local or small suppliers”.
The news comes as questions are being raised over the role of consultancy firm Deloitte in the national procurement of this crucial kit.
Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rachel Reeves, has criticised a lack of clarity over the role of the firm in national PPE and testing efforts in a letter to her government counterpart Michael Gove. She asked several questions about how each contract was awarded, noting serious issues in PPE and testing provision.
A Deloitte team has been involved in national efforts to source PPE in China for some time, according to government documents seen by HSJ.
The firm is understood to have been leading on the national “make” strategy with the DHSC — seeking to expand domestic production of PPE — before the new appointment of Lord Paul Deighton as an advisor on PPE.
Several procurement sources have raised concerns with HSJ over the competency of the consultancy firm with regard to sourcing protective kit.
Meanwhile, Lord Deighton’s role has expanded from leading domestic supply to also supporting broader PPE purchasing efforts. He told trust procurement leads on a webinar on Thursday he was now involved in efforts to secure PPE in China and elsewhere in Asia in addition to his “make” role.
The government announced Friday that tech firm Honeywell had been contracted to produce 70 million FFP2 and FFP3 masks at its site in Newhouse, Scotland. The factory is expected to produce 4.5 million masks a month from July at the earliest.
A DHSC spokesman declined to answer HSJ’s questions on the length of the contract, how it was awarded and how much it is worth, citing “commercial sensitivity”.
Efforts to secure similar deals, including a mask factory in Cramlington, north of Newcastle, are underway.
Ms Reeves also queried the role of outsourcing company Serco in the government’s contact tracing efforts, given two former directors were the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation last year, among other issues. The firm has reportedly been tasked with hiring and training staff to provide manual contact tracing.
HSJ has approached the DHSC and Deloitte for comment.
