Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

(asked on 19th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the incidence of re-use of single use personal protective equipment; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 23rd October 2020

The Government recognises that securing the right PPE for frontline workers is of paramount importance, not only for their protection, but to enable them to continue to deliver the 1st class level of care that is amongst the best in the world.

We continue to work across Government and with regulators to investigate the efficacy and scientific validity of decontaminating and repurposing single-use respirators (FFP3s), to help with resilience in the event of potential future supply shortages. If proven safe and effective, we will work closely with NHS organisations to support preparedness in the event of a future emergency situation.

As set out in our PPE Strategy, published on 28 September, we want to move away from PPE disposable by default and assess new types of PPE that are designed for reuse from the outset, particularly through UK manufacturing.

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