Vital delivery of 84 tonnes of protective equipment for NHS is delayed

A delivery of 84 tonnes of PPE for frontline medical staff will not be arriving today as planned.

The RAF had been ready to transport the protective equipment from Turkey, Sky News reports.

However, an unknown delay means the shipment, including 400,000 surgical gowns, will not yet be able to be used in the NHS.

It comes as the Sunday Times reported that the UK had sent 273,000 pieces of personnel protection equipment (PPE) to China in February.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: ‘We did send protective equipment to China.

‘But, I think it’s important to stress two things there as well. The first thing is that the personal protection equipment that we sent to China was to help with the most extreme outbreak in Wuhan.

‘That personal protection equipment was not from our pandemic stock.

‘And, also we have received far more from China in personal protective equipment than we have given.’

Meanwhile, a plane carrying around 10 million face masks and other vital pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) has landed in Scotland after taking off from China.

The charter flight touched down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on Saturday morning.

Equipment is being distributed to health and social care facilities by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) amid ‘unprecedented demand’ from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The plane, operated by a company called Air Bridge Cargo, also brought infusion pumps for intensive care units and virus collecting kits for use in health laboratories.

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