Hope for protective equipment for Islands’ carers

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Comhairle said that the authority was ‘in discussions’ with the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland regarding distribution of PPE to private and informal carers.

The announcement comes after last week’s statement by the Scottish Government that the provision of PPE would now include ‘all social care providers, and unpaid or family carers and personal assistants’ as part of a wider policy on the distribution of PPE.

Last week, the Scottish Government announced that the provision of PPE would now include ‘all social care providers, and unpaid or family carers and personal assistants’ as part of new plans for the distribution of PPE.

From today [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’, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “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 Jeane Freeman 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.”