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Government confirms 400,000 Turkish gowns are useless for NHS
Minister Brandon Lewis says much-heralded shipment fell below medical standard
Rowena Mason and Kevin Rawlinson https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/government-confirms-400000-turkish-gowns-are-useless-for-nhs
A cabinet minister has confirmed that 400,000 gowns from Turkey to protect medics from coronavirus have been impounded because they were poor quality, but he insisted “strong supplies” were now coming through to the frontline.
The personal protective equipment (PPE) from Turkey was heralded by ministers several weeks ago as “a very significant” shipment that would ease a shortage of gowns in the NHS, but the delivery turned into a shambles after it was repeatedly delayed.
In a final blow to the government, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, acknowledged on Thursday that the gowns had in fact been useless for medical purposes.
“There was a view that it was good enough PPE. It is only when it has got here that teams have looked at it again and taken a view that it is not up to the right standard and they’ve decided not to use it,” he said.
“I think it is right that if we have got particular standards for what we want our frontline staff to be able to have access to we make sure we stick to that.
“If something isn’t right, if we’re not even sure about it then I think it is better to be safe and not use that product and stick with products we are confident are the right products and the right standards.”
Speaking on Sky News, he attempted to downplay the significance of the Turkish shipment, saying it was just one delivery.
“We’ve got some really strong supplies now coming through but we’re always looking to ensure they are good enough,” he said.
However, he was unable to say whether the Department of Health and Social Care would be able to get its money back, and why samples of the equipment were not checked before the transaction happened.
The items are currently being held in a facility near Heathrow airport and sources said the DHSC intended to seek a refund, as it has done in similar situations in the past.
The announcement of the shipment by the communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, on 18 April came at a time when unions and professional bodies were warning that NHS staff may refuse to work without PPE.
Jenrick told the daily Downing Street press briefing that healthcare workers should be “assured that we are doing everything we can to correct this issue”, saying they would have the equipment they “need and deserve”.
Sources later told the Guardian that the DHSC had advised No 10 not to allow Jenrick to publicise the shipment in case it backfired, but was overruled.
The necessary clearances, it turned out, had not been sought. When the consignment did not arrive on time as promised, the delay prompted hospital leaders to directly attack the government for the first time during the pandemic.
Ministers responded by saying they thought it may only a one-day delay. Two days later, with the shipment only then beginning to clear Turkish customs checks, they were only able to give an estimate of arrival “in the next few days”.
The first planeload of gowns eventually arrived on 22 April, but the next day it was reported that “less than a 10th” of the order had arrived. Now all are expected to be returned.
Minister Brandon Lewis says much-heralded shipment fell below medical standard
Rowena Mason and Kevin Rawlinson https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/government-confirms-400000-turkish-gowns-are-useless-for-nhs
A cabinet minister has confirmed that 400,000 gowns from Turkey to protect medics from coronavirus have been impounded because they were poor quality, but he insisted “strong supplies” were now coming through to the frontline.
The personal protective equipment (PPE) from Turkey was heralded by ministers several weeks ago as “a very significant” shipment that would ease a shortage of gowns in the NHS, but the delivery turned into a shambles after it was repeatedly delayed.
In a final blow to the government, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, acknowledged on Thursday that the gowns had in fact been useless for medical purposes.
“There was a view that it was good enough PPE. It is only when it has got here that teams have looked at it again and taken a view that it is not up to the right standard and they’ve decided not to use it,” he said.
“I think it is right that if we have got particular standards for what we want our frontline staff to be able to have access to we make sure we stick to that.
“If something isn’t right, if we’re not even sure about it then I think it is better to be safe and not use that product and stick with products we are confident are the right products and the right standards.”
Speaking on Sky News, he attempted to downplay the significance of the Turkish shipment, saying it was just one delivery.
“We’ve got some really strong supplies now coming through but we’re always looking to ensure they are good enough,” he said.
However, he was unable to say whether the Department of Health and Social Care would be able to get its money back, and why samples of the equipment were not checked before the transaction happened.
The items are currently being held in a facility near Heathrow airport and sources said the DHSC intended to seek a refund, as it has done in similar situations in the past.
The announcement of the shipment by the communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, on 18 April came at a time when unions and professional bodies were warning that NHS staff may refuse to work without PPE.
Jenrick told the daily Downing Street press briefing that healthcare workers should be “assured that we are doing everything we can to correct this issue”, saying they would have the equipment they “need and deserve”.
Sources later told the Guardian that the DHSC had advised No 10 not to allow Jenrick to publicise the shipment in case it backfired, but was overruled.
The necessary clearances, it turned out, had not been sought. When the consignment did not arrive on time as promised, the delay prompted hospital leaders to directly attack the government for the first time during the pandemic.
Ministers responded by saying they thought it may only a one-day delay. Two days later, with the shipment only then beginning to clear Turkish customs checks, they were only able to give an estimate of arrival “in the next few days”.
The first planeload of gowns eventually arrived on 22 April, but the next day it was reported that “less than a 10th” of the order had arrived. Now all are expected to be returned.
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The key issue here is not that the gowns turned out not to be fit for purpose, but the way in which the government is attempting to manage the PPE narrative.
This also applies to the magical 100,000 testing figure. The resources that are being deployed to managing the various government media campaigns would be better utilised in working towards the provision of real solutions that help patients and carers rather than engaging in clumsy propaganda. |
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Probably your best post during this plandemic Goosey. Key word. Propaganda.
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what have they been using then? Apparently the ppe supply was desparate 2 weeks ago
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Jenrick told the daily Downing Street press briefing that healthcare workers should be “assured that we are doing everything we can to correct this issue”, saying they would have the equipment they “need and deserve”.
Sources later told the Guardian that the DHSC had advised No 10 not to allow Jenrick to publicise the shipment in case it backfired, but was overruled. |
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I'm sure the civil service, NHS and government would prefer to be left alone to get on with it, unfortunately there's this recent phenomenon of virtue signalling and people desperate for attention that they look for any problem, exaggerate it to the nth degree to demonstrate how much they 'care'.
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I'm sure that the government would very much like that they were not subjected to scrutiny.
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Was Jenrick engaging in "virtue signalling" when he opted to ignore the advise he received ?
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I think a lot of countries got caught with snide gear tbf.
However,when that plane went out,it makes sense to me that some one official like who knew their PPE should have been on the plane and refused them on inspection in Turkey itself. |
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Indeed, if you were taking supplies from a supplier who wasn't already in your supply chain, it would have been prudent to have an inspector on the plane to perform a sample check prior to loading.
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propaganda [NOUN]
information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. |
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What is the political cause or point of view then?
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Jenrick chose to publicise that particular shipment, no one put a gun to his head or kidnapped his wife and children.
He made the choice, apparently against advice. |
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'we are fully geared up for a pandemic and this country has exceptional testing capacity and expertise'
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There is a lot of propaganda going about to get people to stay home.
Hospitals will overrun (Nightingale mothballed as empty), there no PPE (only in isolated cases), 500,000 will die (taking the biggest number from the research) all over the press in order to scare the population. The people that really know the dangers like Professor 'Lockdown' Ferguson and the Scottish Chief Medical Officer knew that it was all about messaging rather than the science and went against their own advise ignoring the lockdown. |
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I'm apolitical I don't for one minute think Labour would have coped better with this situation.
I'm just sick of politics full stop. I'd rather hear the truth however unpleasant than the usual sugar coated p1sh I'm fed by govts and opposition alike. |
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If you were Robert Jenrick, would you have overruled those advising you and highlighted the shipment from Turkey ?
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And the fact it went wrong speaks to why they generally stick to platitudes.
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He took a calculated political risk Angoose. It's not hard to understand or comprehend.
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Woudl you have taken that risk ?
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At the time I thought to myself he was taking a major risk. For him, at the time he must have thought that was better than platitudes. He should have provided caveats.
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after 2 days tial in isle of white
handjob hancok handing a 3,8 million contract to a software firm to adapt handjobs app to apple etc the absolute total shoie show continues unabated on a daily basis |
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I completely disagree that it's anywhere close to propaganda. Desperation maybe.
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good job we,re ready to cast off alone as a world power on the good ship Brexit in jan
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Just take it out of the international aid to Turkey, simples innit.
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"We've goy some gowns on the way, they may be late and they may be not fit for purpose, but tryst us, we know what we are doing"
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Cider, I set you up to provide a dumb answer, but you certainly exceeded my expectations.
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Have you operated in real business life Angoose? You don't need to answer of course, but what industries have/do you work in? You come across as being sheltered to the realities of operations.
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A dumb thread leads to a dumb answer tbf.
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Another excellent post, things are indeed looking up on here.
stridingedge07 May 20 09:53Joined: 14 Sep 10 | Topic/replies: 56,407 | Blogger: stridingedge's blog I'm apolitical I don't for one minute think Labour would have coped better with this situation. I'm just sick of politics full stop. I'd rather hear the truth however unpleasant than the usual sugar coated p1sh I'm fed by govts and opposition alike. |
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Yes I have, 25 years in finance positions, mostly in oil and gas, spread across five continents, five years as managing director of a number of engineering workshops spread throughout the middle east. So, I do know a bit about running a business, having spend many years at the sharp end.
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That makes your posting on here even more ridiculous, as just blatantly biased and obtuse it seems. What was the point of this thread when you would have known the delivery could not have been fully inspected without being delayed.
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That s poor Cider, i imagine anyone worth their salt could have opened a random selection of boxes and knew they weren't fit for purpose straight away.
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