Highland Council welcomes Scottish Government clarification on PPE guidance

29th April 2020

The Highland Council has welcomed the guidance issued today (29th April) by Scottish Government on ‘Donations of PPE and other supplies'.

Cllr Ben Thomson, Chair of Highland Council's Housing and Property Committee said:

"We welcome this new guidance from the Scottish Government which signposts people to a single national point of contact for those wishing to make or donate PPE to Covid-19NHSsupplychain@gov.scot.

"We understand that many people in the community want to help in the COVID-19 response and we welcome this support. However, to protect its staff, Highland Council will only accept and use PPE supplies to recommended industry standards which are CE marked in accordance with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations or produced in line with the Scottish Government guidance announced today.

"There are many ways of volunteering and details on how and what to volunteer for in your community can be found on Ready Scotland or the Council's website at highland.gov.uk/coronavirus."

The Scottish Government’s guidance issued today states:

“The groundswell of public support for the NHS and staff working across our health and social care system responding to the COVID-19 pandemic has been phenomenal. There’s no doubt that communities, voluntary groups, businesses and individuals want to do their bit to try to help. Many businesses are looking at how they can use their existing expertise to produce supplies of things they are hearing are much-needed in the system - including Personal Protective Equipment, scrubs etc. Community groups and others have been hugely innovative in looking at how they can use their skills to help this effort too.

“Clearly, any supplies accepted into use across the health and social care system, and for wider key workers, must meet certain quality and safety standards. And with so many offers coming forward, it’s important to prioritise those offers first that will contribute to existing stocks the most.

“To do this, the Scottish Government has set up a team to respond to these offers. A single point of contact has been created and any business, community or voluntary organisation now wishing to make donations of PPE, scrubs, uniforms and other supplies should be directed to Covid-19NHSsupplychain@gov.scot.

“Guidance is also available to those offering support in this way at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-coordinating-offers-of-help-from-businesses/ ."