Personal Protective Equipment Transition

See our Downloads section to access the ‘Transitioning PPE Products Product Listing’.
 

PPE products which become purchasable via NHS Supply Chain, will need to be ordered the same way you would order any product available through NHS Supply Chain, for example via Online Ordering, eDC etc.

PPE products which become purchasable via NHS Supply Chain will be available through one of the three normal supply routes; Stocked, Blue Diamond, eDirect

PPE orders placed via NHS Supply Chain will be delivered as per the products standard supply route.  Stocked and Blue Diamond products will be delivered to your existing NHS Supply Chain delivery locations, on your current preferred delivery day(s) and on your standard delivery media, for example cages or pallets.

The FFP3 resilience principles are mandatory in acute settings and are part of EPRR Core Standard 12. Trusts must continue to record their fit test data through ESR. See our Useful Links section to access the NHS England FFP3 resilience principles.

The ‘Transitioning PPE Products Product Listing’ has the available pricing for all relevant PPE Products. See our Downloads section to access this product listing. When products transition across to the NHS Supply Chain catalogue we will also update the relevant Contract Information Pages and related product listings.

No, the Department of Health and Social Care’s scheme to provide free COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health and care providers ended on 31 March 2024. Following this, the portal closed on 23 May 2024 with the last delivery date occurring week commencing 27 May.

If you have an NHS Supply Chain account, then you can purchase PPE through our online catalogue. If you are a healthcare provider but don’t have an NHS Supply Chain account then you may be able to apply for one, although requests for new accounts will be subject to normal approval processes and criteria. Please note that we cannot deliver to individuals or to residential addresses. If needed, please refer to your local healthcare provider for further guidance and support.

For orders including paid stock, if the item you purchased is no longer available, a refund will be issued. Please note in some cases, your delivery may require more than one box to ship to you. Occasionally, this means that the items are separated and may, come in more than one delivery.

Due to necessary health and safety precautions, all PPE products are final sale. These items are non-refundable and non-returnable, unless the item purchased is broken or damaged and not of satisfactory quality, whereby we will offer a refund.
If you have any issues or concerns about your product email your query to Customer.Service@supplychain.nhs.uk using the term ‘PPE Portal Refund Request’ as the email subject title.

A refund will appear on the original card used for the purchase within 10 working days. If you are experiencing any issues with refunds, please email your query to Customer.Service@supplychain.nhs.uk using the term ‘PPE Portal Refund Query’ as the email subject title. 

Yes, if you believe you are eligible to claim charitable VAT relief on your paid purchases on the PPE Portal, from the 3 April 2023, there will be a new section under ‘My Account’ on the PPE Portal, which will allow you to complete a VAT Declaration to declare your eligibility.
 
Please note charitable relief is only applicable on specific products, so please refer to the guidance published on the Portal from the 3 April 2023 to find out more.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UKHSA, an executive agency sponsored by DHSC, have published guidance and recommendations on PPE.
See our Useful Links section for the guidance currently available. The guidance is regularly reviewed, and the pages updated with any potential changes.

Email your query to Customer.Service@supplychain.nhs.uk, including the term ‘PPE Portal Query’ at the start of the email subject title.

A pandemic preparation meeting would be held with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other executive agencies to agree on actions to take. We have the operational capability to stand ordering platforms back up if required.

Where possible, share via mutual aid it to local trusts, non-acute organisations, hospices, and adult social care providers.

Contact your local authority and see if they have any use for the stock.

Donate as humanitarian aid through charitable organisations – depending on what the stock is, Turkey, Syria and/or Ukraine could have uses for it.  

Send expired the PPE to landfill – the last option as this incurs cost but PPE ordered is that of the responsibility of the customer once received, hence the important requirement for accurate stocktakes to be submitted on a weekly basis.

Please contact Roger Kirkham (roger.kirkham@supplychain.nhs.uk) should you have any clinical queries relating to PPE.

The majority of FFP3 masks from the Department of Health and Social Care catalogue are on the NHS Supply Chain Single Use PPE framework, so will continue to be available once the free stock has depleted. This includes 3M, GVS, Kolmi, Alpha Solway and Draeger.

Please note, Honeywell FFP3 Masks SuperOne RFFPIIIU0123 is being discontinued.

Gowns made available under the new Single Use PPE and Medical Protective Consumables framework must comply with our internal clinical assurance process. See our Useful Links to access the framework information page for full details of the products and suppliers are available.

No, as most trusts now have their own skilled resources available, the DHSC will end central funding of this programme on 31 March 2023. Trusts need to make their own arrangements for fit-testing moving forward.