From Monday 27 April, local Hubs will distribute PPE supplies
to the whole of the social care sector where normal supply
routes have not been successful. These hubs will extend their
provision to include all social care providers, and unpaid or
family carers and personal assistants.
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, global supply
chains have been put under immense pressure and that is why the
Scottish Government has set up supplies of PPE to support the
social care sector from the national stock.
Health Secretary said:
“The Scottish Government values the importance of everyone who
is providing social care and we want to ensure they have access
to appropriate PPE.
“As we respond to the challenges from global scarcity of PPE,
we have worked with partners to agree an improved model that
will ensure all social care providers have access to supplies
from national NHS stock.
“This has only been possible because of a shared aim to ensure
the right PPE gets to the right people at the right time and to
keep everyone safe.
“In the coming weeks, we will collectively monitor how this
model is operating, identifying challenges quickly and taking
action as we deal with the evolving nature of the pandemic.”
Health and Social Care spokesperson for COSLA, Councillor
Stuart Currie said:
“COSLA welcomes this announcement which will ensure PPE
provision for unpaid and family carers and personal
assistants.
“Local Government has worked with partners across the sector to
develop this model to ensure those who are supporting
vulnerable people within their communities and all parts of the
workforce have access to the PPE they need.”
Background
This new model will aim to improve the flow of PPE to providers
by building on local intelligence.
Local requests for PPE were previously directed through the NSS
PPE Social Care Triage helpline. This helpline will be for
emergency use when the Hubs are unable to meet demand, eg if
there is a spike of positive cases within a provider or in
specific area.
Care Homes and other social care providers are responsible for
sourcing their own PPE stock, working with local government
teams.
The improved local Hub model is:
• business as usual for providers to source their own
stock of PPE
• where this fails, the hubs will provide PPE to the whole
social care sector, including personal assistants and unpaid
carers
• supplies will be used in line with guidance and
distributed equitably according to need, regardless of
employer
• NHS NSS will supply stock to the Hubs to meet need based
on actual consumption/reasonable planned usage data –
recognising that actual consumption may rise as business as
usual sources of supply dry up and as Hubs expand their
provision
• hubs will receive stock on a pre-determined day of the
week, and will know what deliveries will include. They will be
expected to provide a regular stock return to NSS
• NSS will provide virtual training for Hubs and providers
on Hub operations and expectations
• distribution and supply arrangements will be analysed
using evidence gathered from the ongoing operations, and kept
under review for changes and improvements where necessary. This
process will include all parties
• the National Services Scotland Social Care triage
service will revert to being for emergency use only
The new approach was agreed by all partners. They are:
• Integrated Joint Board Chief Officers
• Scottish Care
• CCPS (Coalition of Care and support Providers in
Scotland)
• National Carer Organisations
• SPAEN (Scottish Personal Assistant Employers
Network)
• SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council)
• Care Inspectorate
• STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress)
