Scottish Government says it is 'extremely concerned' and is investigating reports England is being prioritised over Scotland for coronavirus personal protective equipment
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The Scottish Government is investigating allegations that England has priority over Scotland when it comes to deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) to private care homes.
The issue was first raised by Dr Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care which represents the independent care homes sector.
At this afternoon's Scottish Government briefing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the government was taking the matter extremely seriously despite national clinical director Jason Leitch already rubbishing the allegations publicly.
Ms Sturgeon said health secretary Jeane Freeman would be seeking to address the matter directly with her UK counterpart, Matt Hancock, and if the allegations prove to be true then it would “clearly be unconscionable and unacceptable.”
“We are aware of reports yesterday and this morning that supplies of personal protective equipment to care homes in Scotland are being diverted to England," she said.
“Now I should stress, we're not so far aware that this is an issue affecting supplies to our national stockpile in Scotland although we continue to monitor that very closely indeed.
“I also want to be clear that if care homes’ usual supplies are affected in this way then as well as that being completely unacceptable in itself, it will of course increase pressure on our national stockpile and that would be a source of real worry to us.
“So, it's not an exaggeration to say that we are extremely concerned about these reports and I've taken steps to investigate further and to seek to resolve them as a matter of urgency.
“Our health secretary is raising this matter with Matt Hancock, the UK secretary of state for health, today and is seeking to speak to him directly about it.
“I want to be clear about my view – and I hope nobody thinks this is in any way a point of a political nature – it is a point about fairness and co-operation as all of us deal with the challenge of this virus.
“All parts of the UK face supply challenges on PPE and indeed this is a global issue, so any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to another without consultation or any sense of co-operation would clearly be unconscionable and unacceptable.
“So that is why we are seeking to investigate these issues further, and seeking to address them if they are arising, as quickly possible.”
