Concerns PPE offers aren't being followed up quick enough by Scottish Government
Ayrshire MSP Brian Whittle has received multiple offers for the Scottish Government from previous colleagues.
There are concerns offers of PPE from companies to the Scottish Government aren't being followed up soon enough.
Conservative MSP for Ayrshire, Brian Whittle, used to work as a Global Director for a healthcare technology firm before becoming a politician.
He has received numerous offers of protective items for Scotland from previous colleagues, all of which he's passed through the official channels to the Scottish Government.
Mr Whittle says, "There is PPE out there, quite a lot of it. For example, I was offered two million masks of a quality which I fed straight into the Scottish Government.
"But I think there seems to be a lag between feeding that in and them contacting these companies.
"I don't want to criticise the Scottish Government at all. That is not appropriate. But there does seem to be a disconnect between companies who can supply, the procurement especially from companies who are not on the NHS preferred suppliers list and then the distribution of that out to where it's needed.
"We're in unprecedented times but all is not as it seems to be in terms of reporting a shortage of PPE. I don't think that's the problem. I think it's procurement and distribution.
"I think we have to get better at this because there is PPE out there that is available and it's not getting to the frontline."
The Scottish Government insists it is distributing millions of PPE items every day. Previously Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said, "The safety of our health and social care workforce is an absolute priority, and we are continuously looking to improve the distribution of the protective equipment that is so vital in the fight against COVID-19.
“We currently have adequate stocks of PPE for the most critical items.
“Work continues as an absolute priority to source further PPE to ensure there continues to be an appropriate supply for all our health and social care workforce.”