PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) enquiries
The demand for PPE will continue at high levels for the foreseeable future as the Covid-19 Pandemic continues, both from the NHS and also the Social Care sector. This document captures the key contact information in our region seeking PPE supplies.
NHS – University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW) Trust and other Hospitals
UHCW is the largest Hospital Trust in Coventry & Warwickshire, the Trust includes the University Hospital Coventry and St Cross Rugby. They also link with the other NHS Hospitals in C&W, including George Elliot Nuneaton, and Warwick Hospital, and have been coordinating local activities around sourcing PPE.
For businesses who can potentially supply and / or manufacture PPE for local Hospitals, in the first instance they should contact PPE-Donations@uhcw.nhs.uk.
The Growth Hub and CWLEP have a direct liaison with the Executive at UHCW, and discussions can be raised at that level if appropriate (UHCW have requested one contact). UHCW Procurement teams are working through these enquiries to identify suppliers to meet short term requirements, and also to build longer lasting supply chains. Typically, UHCW are seeking suppliers of large volumes of PPE.
Adult Social Care
Both Coventry City Council (CCC) and Warwickshire County Council (WCC) are coordinating PPE needs and supplies across the Social Care organisations they contract for the provision of Social Care across C&W, including Care Homes and Domiciliary Care. Whilst overall volumes of PPE across Social Care is thought to be at least as high as the NHS, it is more fragmented across many more locations and companies, so smaller volumes of supply as well as larger are welcomed.
Contact details for CCC and WCC are;
Coventry City Council; covid19equipmentrequest@coventry.gov.uk
Warwickshire County Council; cv19ppe@warwickshire.gov.uk
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)
The WMCA has launched a portal for both Citizens and Businesses to offer support, and also seek help, including PPE supplies.
Businesses and Individuals can register on https://wmca-covid19-support.org/
WMCA are looking to engage with:
- Organisations that are an existing manufacturer or supplier of medical grade PPE
- Organisations that are existing manufacturers that have legitimate potential to start producing medical grade PPE (with advice and guidance if required)
- Organisations that have existing supplies of medical PPE that they wish to donate
WMCA is working with a number of businesses to support, mentor and signpost businesses looking to access the PPE supply chain, and have a realistic potential to start producing medical grade PPE.
National Government call for PPE supplies
The Government has called for assistance on a wide range of products and services to assist through the Pandemic response. Originally the call was specifically for Ventilators, and is now much wider.
Lord Deighton was recently appointed by the Health and Social Care Secretary of State Matt Hancock, to lead on this work across Government departments.
Businesses should register on https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-support-from-business
The support needed includes things like:
- medical testing equipment
- medical equipment design
- protective equipment for healthcare workers, such as masks, gowns and sanitiser
- hotel rooms
- transport and logistics, for moving goods or people
- manufacturing equipment
- warehouse or office space, for medical use or storage
- expertise or support on IT, manufacturing, construction, project management, procurement or engineering
- social care or childcare
Other Opportunities
‘Scrub Hubs’
For those individuals who have access to a sewing machine and would like to get involved in PPE supply, more information can be found on the ‘Scrub Hub UK’ website. Volunteers have set up this website, and local chapters have been created, including groups covering the Coventry & Warwickshire area.
Coventry & Warwickshire Opportunities Portal
The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub has joined the Finditin regional network which has over 80,000 registered users and has advertised over £50 billion worth of opportunities so far in 2020.
The new FinditinCW involves the Growth Hub, the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and the local authorities to give businesses access to private and public sector contracts and link-up buyers with suppliers across a variety of sectors.
The user-friendly website at www.finditincw.co.uk will be a one-stop shop for all contracts and opportunities for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and HS2 as well as tender and contract alerts for high-profile projects in the area.
The Growth Hub is working on a PPE section on the portal which is expected to go live shortly.
