UK wasted £10bn on PPE that left NHS staff poorly protected, Covid inquiry finds
Healthcare staff were unable to properly protect themselves, or those in their care, from dangerous infections, says the latest inquiry report.
Reporting preview
The lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), with almost £10bn of taxpayers' money wasted in a scramble to buy more, the Covid inquiry has said.
The chair Baroness Hallett criticised the "vast" waste in procurement, put at £9.9bn – two-thirds of the £14.9bn the government spent on PPE.
The UK entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a perilous state and was unprepared for the global race to secure supplies, she added.
She described the controversial VIP lane, which prioritised PPE offers from those with political connections, as a misguided policy that should not be repeated.
But she said there was "no evidence of cronyism or corruption" by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts.
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