Forum Topic

Panorama last night

Quite an eye opener.

Helen Bamberger ● 2382d33 Comments

How about a brief synopsis (for those of us who were watching Twelfth Night from the NT)?

Ken Munn ● 2382d

I caught a brief snippet on Radio 4 this morning when government person (missed the name!) was asked about allegations on the Panorama programme that the government was using misleading numbers on how much PPE equipment is being provided by doing things like counting a pair of gloves as two items of PPE. The response "we are acting on scientific advice". Jesus wept.

Paul Campbell ● 2382d

Just watched the programme.  Basically it shows how despite warnings and opportunities the government has repeatedly failed to provide adequate PPE and, as a consequence, numerous NHS workers have died and continue to be at severe risk.It’s really worth watching, but deeply depressing.

Alastair Banton ● 2382d

Thx Alastair.

Ken Munn ● 2381d

Coronavirus: UK failed to stockpile crucial PPEhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-52440641Synopsis here

Roger Francis ● 2381d

And if the govt had stock piled PPE and we didn't need it that would have wrong too . Can't win either way

Gill Hutchison ● 2381d

Don't see how that would've been wrong - it would have been used anyway.

Micki Hawkes ● 2381d

No, its not about winning. It is about doing the right and the responsible things to protect British people and key workers. The government had ample, timely and more than specific warnings that (1) such an epidemic was likely, and (2) the preparations and particularly the stock of equipment was not in place.There is no "ooh, look, a warehouse of essential equipment, what a waste". So stop defending the indefensible.

Alan Clark ● 2381d

Gill, I disagree.  Given the WHO had recommended preparing for a pandemic, stockpiling (or I would call it ensuring we have adequate supplies safely stored) is good insurance.  Nobody knew when the pandemic would hit, just that one (a) was likely and (b) would be devastating, it was just making sure we were prepared.  Even if the coronavirus hadn't hit us this year, it was definitely  likely to happen at some point in the future.  The point is that the Government were warned, they ignored the warnings, and we are paying the price now.

Anne Brown ● 2381d

The WHO said that the UK was very well prepared for SARS in 2003 but masks and PPE generally have a shelf-life as the membranes of filters etc deteriorate so any stockpile has to be continually renewed which it clearly hasn't been.A medic rang into LBC and said that he had peeled back a current expiry sticker on one item and found another with an expiry date of 2015.

Ben Gemmingen ● 2381d

No, it would have been a sensible precaution, and we would have been pleased if it were not needed to be used. Only those obsessed with the idea of shrinking the state and cutting public expenditure to the bone could have complained about it.

Robert Fish ● 2381d

I agree with your point broadly Gill.If we stockpiled stuff to cope with every conceivable eventuality it would be very wasteful.It's like snow ploughs.

Will Watson ● 2381d

I would have thought that some PPE is required on a regular basis anyway even in more normal times. So why not have a supply that is regularly rotated - like supermarkets do with their stock?

Vanessa Smith ● 2381d

Wow, unreal, no one country had or has sufficient Stock of PPE, the challenge with stockpiling if as people have already stated, what do we stockpile? Past use by dates? No one could have foreseen COVID 19, the world was not prepared for such a virus so let’s stop pointing the finger and pull together. There is enough negativity around so let take an example of Captain Tom, be positive and have a fighting spirit to combat the virus.

Jayne Thorburn ● 2381d

Will, probability and seriousness make it much more than just any conceivable eventuality. Your snowplough example is not very helpful. How many people die as a result of lack of snowploughs?

Robert Fish ● 2381d

There was also the downgrading of the type of PPE required in various scenarios.  Since there are asymptomatic carriers it is obvious that in particular scenarios eg using ventilators and others where there is close contact more rather than less is necessary.Then there is the company that has asked the government if they want them to make gowns but in the absence of a reply are making ones for the USA. The horror just goes on.

Philippa Bond ● 2381d

I wish that just once someone on this forum who generally supports the government would be prepared to say ‘Yes, in this instance we could have done better and we should have done better.’  But this never seems to happen and I don’t understand why.

Alastair Banton ● 2381d

Thank you Jayne for a sensible reply. I do wonder why so many who have criticised matters under this thread had nothing to say on the subject of strategic stockpiling prior to December. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing.

Jeffrey Cope ● 2381d

"No-one could have foreseen Covid-19", That may be true, although after the SARS and MERS outbreaks there was the expectation of some other form of coronavirus. But the government didn't even do anything about sourcing PPE once the threat was ascertained.

Robert Fish ● 2381d

And planning and forethought are even better.  We knew that there was a real risk of a pandemic.  I fail to understand why some people seem to have been so surprised by this including those who carry out the risk assessments.Then when we saw it happening and were warned...

Philippa Bond ● 2381d

Victoria Atkins was invited onto Piers Morgan's headed ITV Breakfast show this morning to talk about the escalating problem of Domestic violence in the country.However Piers Morgan ambushed her by asking her why the Govt's investment of PPEs was so dreadfully inadequate, despite internal warnings to the Government in 2016 and in March this year (EXERCISE GYNUS) that a pandemic was spreading its terror towards Europe and therefore further urgent ordering of PPEs was necessary.Victoria Atkins had never heard of EXERCISE GYNUS and was unable to wriggle out of her ignorance, and indeed attempted to laugh it off as if the consequences were no more than trivial.The scale of the consequences of shortages of PPEs is becoming more dire by the day, and should rid this Minister for Care and Safeguarding of the nation of her post.

Denis Fox ● 2381d

Apologies Philippa,Perhaps you would be so good as to remind me of your historic contributions on this particular subject prior to December.

Jeffrey Cope ● 2381d

Another complacent apologist! Of course we had nothing to say about strategic stockpiling prior to December — it's within the government's exclusive sphere of competence. However, it becomes a matter of legitimate public concern when the government is manifestly seen to be failing in response to events. And "hindsight" has nothing to do with it. Many people appreciated the gravity of the threat, and took action themselves (closing offices, etc) before the government started seriously to address the problem. They have been consistently behind the curve on everything — testing, social distancing, lockdown, PPE sourcing, ventilator sourcing. Tell me one thing they did on a timely basis.

Robert Fish ● 2381d

I refer you to my reply to Philippa. You had nothing to say because you knew nothing of the subject.

Jeffrey Cope ● 2381d

Of course I knew nothing about the subject, and never even thought about strategic stockpiling. See my comment about the government's exclusive sphere of competence. But, thanks to the media, we all know now that they're not competent, and we all take an interest in these matters.

Robert Fish ● 2381d

"Tell me one thing they did on a timely basis."they told us they were taking scientific advice.

Steve Taylor ● 2381d

LOL

Robert Fish ● 2381d

The government's PPE stockpile organisation was progressively privatised and outsourced in recent years, with the predictable drive to 'economise', compounded by the government deciding that planning for a pandemic wasn't a priority.  On the other hand, you can't have too many Trident nuclear submarines, just in case...

Peter Evans ● 2381d

Neither did I comment on PPE stocks in December, or in 2016 for that matter. But then I was not the recipient of the (yet to be published) recommendations from Operation Cygnus. Nor do I receive the recommendations from WHO. Or from the government panel that plans for epidemics - so their highlighting of shortage last year was not sent to me. Nor do I know where the warehouses are that stock this stuff, or have access to their inventory, or are able to get any reporting from the outsourced companies managing this stock. So I'm going to excuse myself from not commenting last year.Now I wonder who is the recipient of all of the above and thus responsible for doing a half decent job?

Alan Clark ● 2381d

Probably someone high up in the NHS.

Will Watson ● 2381d

'Efficiency scheme chief to stay on for 18 monthsBy Katherine Hignett 20 February 2020     Jin Sahota has been on secondment from the Cabinet Office since 2018    Colleague Alan Wain has also had his secondment extendedThe chief executive of a flagship efficiency scheme will stay on until at least the end of September 2021, HSJ has learned.Jin Sahota has helmed Supply Chain Coordination Limited, which runs NHS Supply Chain, since July 2017. He is on secondment from the Cabinet Office, where he led the Department of Health and Social Care’s ”procurement transformation programme” in 2016.Mr Sahota’s secondment was due to end in March 2020, but an SCCL spokeswoman told HSJ it had been extended.  Chief operating officer Alan Wain’s term has also been extended until 31 March 2021. He is also on secondment from the Cabinet Office.An SCCL spokeswoman said: “The extensions of Jin and Alan’s secondments will ensure continuity whilst we continue to transform and modernise the NHS Supply Chain service in order to improve the experience for our customers.”NHS Supply Chain is tasked with saving billions of pounds by leveraging the buying power of the NHS as a single organisation. Since April 2019, trusts have sacrificed a small portion of tariff income to fund the project. However, procurement leads have criticised the scheme for failing to deliver timely and accurate evidence of savings at a trust level. NHS Supply Chain in December told HSJ it had made efficiency savings of more than £150m this financial year. It has blamed a “critical” systems issue for delaying trust-specific savings reports. A spokeswoman previously said a new IT system should be in place by December 2019. But in January, she told HSJ an “automated, self-serve savings reporting tool” was now planned for quarter one of 2020-21 — more than a year after trusts’ tariff income was withheld for the project. SCCL director Emily Lawson was recently named substantive chief commercial officer at NHS England/Improvement. An NHSE/I director since 2017, she took on the SCCL role last summer alongside fellow NHSE/I director Miranda Carter.NHSE/I has been considering taking ownership of SCCL from the DHSC for at least a year.Updated 10.30 21st February 2020 to reflect the fact Jin Sahota and Alan Wain are employed by the Cabinet Office, not the DHSC.SourceInformation obtained by HSJSource DateFebruary 2020'from https://www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-efficiency/efficiency-scheme-chief-to-stay-on-for-18-months/7026956.article

Claudia Jachtmann ● 2381d

title slightly edited to fit subject headline'Jin Sahota, Commercial Director, Supply Chain, UK Department of HealthJin has worked across a range of sectors within global organisations. He has held senior board level positions in operations and end-to-end supply chain roles at Technicolor, Honeywell, Motorola and Psion.Jin joined the Department of Health in February 2016 and has focused on raising commercial standards and capability whilst establishing a positive challenging working environment in the DH Commercial Division. He is responsible for leading the Procurement Transformation Programme (PTP), operating across the NHS Supply Chain to replace the current contract with a Future Operating Model. He will establish the Future Operating Model to make the NHS one of the most effective and powerful procurement entities in Europe.Before joining the Department Jin was SVP worldwide operations at Technicolor Connected Home, based in Paris. He held senior regional leadership positions within three of the global business divisions of the Technicolor Group: Connected Home, Broadcast & Media Services, and Home Entertainment Services.  Jin started his professional career with Psion, a handheld computer company, working as operations and business manager for six years. Jin then moved to Motorola (Land Mobile Products Sector) in Ireland as EMEA sourcing manager before being appointed commodities manager to Motorola Mobile Phones (Personal Communications Sector) for an additional two years in Ireland, a year in the UK, and then in Germany. Two years later he began his career with Honeywell Electrical Devices and Systems as head of sourcing before leaving after two years to join Technicolor.Jin has a MSc. in operations management from London Thames University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Portsmouth University, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and the Chartered Management Institute. He has attended a number of executive programmes at Harvard Business School, IESE New York, London Business School and more recently Stanford Business School.'from https://www.procurementpowerlist.com/jin-sahota

Claudia Jachtmann ● 2381d

http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Comment/nhs-supply-chain-driving-the-way-forward?fbclid=IwAR0dlrgFw93xpBQgAHfEZfiQdtCIpL_sWEh_XkNnJwJQzRDP2rGmwuAbps4

Claudia Jachtmann ● 2381d