One million face masks have been intercepted at East Midlands
Airport, as part of a zero-tolerance approach towards unsafe
PPE that will not reliably protect those working at the
frontline of the coronavirus crisis.
The Government is working hard to ensure the right PPE goes
to the right healthcare workers as quickly as possible;
whilst using intelligence-based intervention to keep products
that will not protect out of the marketplace.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS),
within BEIS, examined an estimated one million face masks
in a batch of consignments at East Midlands airport.
OPSS detained
700,000 suspect face masks, based on assessments of their
quality, marking, certification and documentation. Masks
and other items that could be shown to be safe were
released for immediate use, including by businesses working
at the frontline such as care homes.
OPSS is
coordinating intelligence across the UK’s ports and borders
and has deployed an enforcement team to East Midlands
Airport in response to information from Border Force.
OPSS Chief
Executive Graham Russell said:
We are committed to supporting legitimate businesses who
are working hard to increase the supply of PPE to health
and social care settings. But anyone setting out to
supply unsafe PPE, with fake certification and false
safety marks, needs to know we take a zero-tolerance
approach.
We will use all necessary enforcement powers to make sure
unsafe PPE does not enter the supply chain and will take
action against importers who set out to flout important
safety rules.
OPSS has
seen a rise in intelligence relating to PPE products
including sales of non-compliant or counterfeit face masks
and hand sanitisers, being sold online, in shops and at
markets.
300,000 items from the consignment have been cleared
by OPSS personnel,
actively protecting health workers against the pandemic.
Unsafe PPE that cannot be re-worked or used safely in
another setting will be quarantined or destroyed.
In notes
-
OPSS has
been working closely at East Midlands Airport with the
Health and Safety Executive, the Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and
Leicestershire Trading Standards
-
OPSS put
in place two regulatory easement routes from 26 March,
which maintain essential safety requirements, but
streamline administrative processes to speed up supply
of PPE to the NHS and other essential workers.
-
For Government purchases for the NHS, PPE can be
supplied without CE marking or conformity assessment,
provided it meets essential safety requirements and is
cleared by the Health and Safety Executive.
-
As a result, manufacturers going through the approval
process for sale or donation to the NHS can have new
PPE approved in weeks rather than the months or years
it can take under the normal system. In one example, a
leading company (Apple) has gained regulatory approval
for a new face mask with support from OPSS officials
in just 10 days.
-
Authorities in the Netherlands recalled 600,000
defective face masks manufactured in China.
