Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Update on PPE Guidance from PHE - October 2020
Public Health England have advised that they are no longer updating or publishing the Local Authority PPE guide. This guidance was originally drafted to provide clarity for LA staff and providers in the absence of national guidance. As there is now a wealth of guidance available (see below), the LA guidance has been withdrawn. PHE will keep this decision under review and reinstate LA guidance if necessary.
Public Health England: Latest Guidance on PPE
There is updated guidance on how to work safely in care homes and home care, which includes updated advice on PPE protocol regarding the use of face masks during the current period of sustained transmission. Please ensure you follow the latest guidance on safe working practices:
Public Health Resource Pack - Prevention and Control of Covid-19 in Social Care Settings
On 9 April, a resource pack from PHE was circulated by email to providers by Partner in Care. (shared by email on 9 April 2020). All of these resources can be found on the National Guidance & Resource Packs tile of these pages.
Accessing PPE Supply Chains during the coronavirus outbreak
Due to the unprecedented demand for PPE there has been widespread disruption to standard supply chains. Providers must attempt to secure their own supplies before requesting to access contingency supplies from the Councils.
The Dorset NHS CCG has produced the following guidance to support providers to find suppliers of PPE where usual routes have failed.
In addition Dorset NHS CCG receives offers from businesses to provide PPE and this has been collated on this table
Please note that this does not represent a list of CCG recommended providers or products and that Dorset CCG has undertaken no steps to either verify the standard of products offers or the viability of the organisation. It is therefore recommended that you take the due diligence checks required under your own governance arrangements.
If you are aware of any producers who may wish to offer their products please ask them to complete this form
Hand sanitisers
Since the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) demand for alcohol-based hand sanitising products has increased dramatically, leading to some shortages. To meet the demand, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is working extremely hard to support manufacturers to produce sanitisers. Hand sanitisers have a required and vital need for demonstrable efficacy and safety of production, therefore it is fundamental that we cannot and must not advocate this clinical product to be made outside of the normal supply chain approved suppliers list.
The MHRA has advised against all non-compliant products being utilised in the healthcare during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Please remember that one of the cheapest, easiest and most important ways to prevent the spread of a virus is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water.