Pandemic personal protective equipment (PPE) future supply: lessons learned

Part 1: Existing work, new supply arrangements and the written consultation

Initial lessons learned themes

In December 2021 we presented a paper to the PPE Strategy and Governance Board summarising the initial lessons learned collation and review work. The paper also noted the creation of a Lessons Learned Log ‘the Log’ to record how these lessons were being considered and actioned.

The main themes identified within this paper were communication, collaboration, and the fundamental inadequacy of the traditional just-in-time PPE supply system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New pandemic PPE supply arrangements

Since December 2021 work to consider lessons learned and incorporate them into future PPE preparedness policy continued as part of the PPE Futures Programme. The Programme’s Future Supply workstream used this work to develop and propose new pandemic supply arrangements for the future, which the Cabinet Secretary agreed to take forward in December 2021. Briefly, these were:

• a strategic pandemic focus in Scotland with all public sector organisations who chose to opt in procuring pandemic PPE collaboratively, managed by NHS National Services Scotland ‘NSS’
• a national pandemic PPE stockpile and surge capacity, managed by NSS

The PPE Futures Programme closed in April 2022 and was superseded by the PPE Implementation Project ‘the Project’, which will develop and implement the new pandemic PPE supply arrangements through 2022 and into 2023. We will continue to monitor the log to ensure that the lessons learned work is continued through the Project.

Written consultation

The Lessons Learned workstream within the PPE Futures Programme developed the initial main themes identified into several key lessons learned to be incorporated within the new supply arrangements:

• cross public sector collaboration with the NHS on PPE supply issues should be considered as part of a future strategy
• a reformed stockpiling and buying approach for pandemic PPE is required
• a surge capacity should be incorporated into the future pandemic PPE supply and stockpiling arrangements to guarantee that PPE demand is met during the volatile early stages of any future pandemic
• we must build upon the progress made during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of supporting new, domestic supply chains and the development of data modelling
• primary care and adult social care require a long term and sustainable PPE supply strategy
• a future strategy also needs to consider how private businesses and third sector organisations can be as prepared as possible for future pandemics to ensure that they continue to deliver essential public services

We published a public consultation between 25 January 2022 and 22 March 2022. We consulted on the key lessons learned identified, if any others should be considered, and for respondents views on the proposed supply arrangements.

We published the consultation analysis in Personal protective equipment - future supply: consultation analysis. All but a few respondents who engaged with the lessons learned section of the consultation agreed with the key lessons learned found. Some respondents also proposed additional lessons for consideration within the free text element of the section. The, the key themes were:

• improved collaboration and communication
• criticism of PPE allocation
• importance of domestic supply
• prioritisation of quality and suitability of PPE
• addressing PPE cost inflation
• reducing PPE waste

These suggestions have been cross referenced with the Log to ensure that they had either been already been recorded, considered and actioned as appropriate. If not, they were added to the Log to undergo the same process.