PPE Transition
The provision of COVID-19 PPE will continue to be free of charge until 31 March 2024 or until stocks are depleted (whichever is sooner). It will also continue to be delivered by Clipper Logistics and be supplied through the auto replenishment model for NHS trusts, and available to order via the dedicated PPE Portal for eligible primary care and adult social care providers.
All other ordering of PPE products, non-COVID-19 related, needs to be made via each organisation’s normal ordering process.
Whilst the Department of Health and Social Care retains overall ownership and management of centralised PPE stock, NHS Supply Chain acts as the agent in providing PPE requirements.
Transitioning the PPE supply chain into NHS Supply Chain will help to ensure a single supply chain to manage the future procurement and supply of products. That it meets the needs of the wider health and care sector. Also, to improve supply chain resilience through the incorporation of supply chain excellence best practice.
The resilience of PPE product supply in to the NHS has been assured through:
- Increased stockholding in NHS Supply Chain warehouses
- Improved product availability, removing the need for trusts to stock build
- Increased weekly stock cover
- Increased number of pallets across all lines
- Reduced number of products we offer
- Increased delivery service levels.
Free PPE Stock-Out Update 9 February 2023
The Department of Health and Social Care has published Estimated stock-out dates by PPE category on the GOV.UK website for centrally funded free PPE products.
See our Useful Links section for weekly updates from the government website for PPE Products transitioning between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
This stock-out date data will be refreshed on a weekly basis by our PPE Demand Planning team, to ensure you have visibility of this information and are kept up to date.
We encourage providers to continue to only order PPE based on current demand, to ensure the centrally funded stock remains available for use where needed. Please note that any increase in demand will bring forward stock out dates for individual products. Order limits will continue to apply and order volumes will be monitored closely up to March 2024.
NHS Supply Chain will continue to work with suppliers to provide replacement products in all categories where the stock depletes. It is also worth noting that potential alternatives to transitioned products may remain in the centrally funded product list, available for order.
NHS Trusts
The provision of COVID-19 PPE is delivered by Clipper Logistics and be supplied through the auto replenishment model for NHS trusts.
This channel is for Acute, Mental Health, Community, Integrated Care, and Ambulance trusts.
Across the PPE Transition:
- Any products which remain within centrally funded stock will continue to be available for order via Foundry, as you have been doing since PPE became funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Any products which will now become purchasable can be sourced via NHS Supply Chain via the Business as Usual route (Online Catalogue, eDC etc).
See our Useful Links section for the estimated stock-out dates by each PPE category is available.
The Daily Delivery Manifest is available as a download for the auto replenishment supply of core PPE stock. These manifests are published on this page so that you can see what core PPE products will be delivered to your trust today/tomorrow, by product description, and by volume.
Based on customer feedback, there are fixed delivery days by organisation type so you know on which days you can expect a delivery. These are shown in the table below.
| Organisation Chart | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Acute | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Ambulance | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Mental Health | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N |
| Community | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y |
| CIC | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N |
| Social Enterprise | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N |
Mapping of Trusts PPE Report
- A list of trusts that receive PPE auto replenishment pallet deliveries is mapped against trusts that do not receive PPE auto replenishment pallet deliveries.
- If your trust does not receive PPE auto replenishment pallet deliveries, use this report to understand the main trust within your ICS that you can approach to facilitate local mutual aid.
- If your trust does receive PPE auto replenishment pallet deliveries, use this report to understand the trust(s) within your ICS that may approach you asking you to facilitate local mutual aid.
- See our Downloads ▼ section to access the Mapping of Trusts PPE Report.
Facilitating ICS Mutual Aid Report
- Shows core PPE volume delivered, by trust and by product description.
- Includes PPE delivered by NHS Supply Chain and via PPE auto replenishment deliveries from the pandemic stockpile.
- Use this report to understand the location and type of core PPE products delivered into your ICS.
- See our Downloads ▼ section to access the Facilitating ICS Mutual Aid Report.
Other Healthcare Partners
Community, Non-Acute, and Primary Care Healthcare Partners
The urgent need is recognised to provide more capacity to deliver PPE products to our wider community providers, including care homes and home care providers.
A solution to meet this demand has been created for social care and primary care providers.
PPE Portal
The Department of Health and Social Care, partnered with eBay, Clipper Logistics, and Royal Mail, has developed the PPE Portal. It is a way for social care and primary care providers to order and receive critical COVID-19 PPE. All PPE offered on the portal meets UK Government quality standards. See our Useful Links Section for more information on the PPE Portal.
Across the PPE transition:
- Any products which remain within centrally funded stock will continue to be available for order via the PPE Portal, as you have been doing since PPE became funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Any products which will now become purchasable will also be available via the PPE Portal, with an additional payments page added to allow a card payment facility. Full details of this new element will be made available shortly.
See our Useful Links section for the gov.uk estimated stock-out dates by each PPE category is available.
Hospices
If you are a hospice being provided deliveries via the auto replenishment method, please contact Unipart at ppeportal.queries@unipart.com
PPE Transition FAQs
Below are three sections of FAQs based on how your order your PPE products; NHS Trusts (Acute) Customers, Other Healthcare Partners (Non-Acute) Customers and General/Other queries.
NHS Trusts (Acute) Customers
See our Downloads section to access the ‘Transitioning PPE Products Product Listing’.
Please note, centrally funded (free) products which are set to deplete and are transitioning back into NHS Supply Chain can only be ordered from 3 April 2023.
There are a range of items set to deplete in March and April which will transition back into NHS Supply Chain. At a high level, these include:
· 6N Nitrile Gloves (except XL)
· Sterile Gowns (selected sizes)
· Aprons (Heavy Duty on a roll)
· Body Bags (Adult & Child)
· Respirators and Fit test solution (selected types).
Trusts should have sufficient stock of the free PPE products set to deplete, up until 3 April 2023, when new PPE stock will be available for ordering via NHS Supply Chain.
See our Useful Links section for more information and to view the GOV.UK ‘Estimated Stock-Out Dates By PPE Category’.
We will aim to notify customers six weeks, or as close to this period as possible, prior to free PPE stock depleting and transitioning back into NHS Supply Chain.
We will send this notification to all registered contacts saved under ‘Heads of Procurement’, ‘Procurement and Supplies’, ‘Materials Management’ and ‘Regional PPE Leads’ in our system. Please check with your Customer Relationship Manager to ensure you will receive the email.
Customers may also receive updates on communication through:
· NHS Supply Chain Customer Relationship Managers
· Targeted communications via Foundry and the PPE Portal
· NHS England Regional PPE Leads
· PPE Customer Engagement Panels
· Updates to this webpage
· Updates in our Monthly Customer Webinar Series.
See our Useful Links section for more information on the anticipated free PPE stock depletion dates at GOV.UK ‘Estimated Stock-Out Dates By PPE Category’.
Yes, Foundry remains in place for all centrally funded stock which is still available. So, stocktakes are still required to be submitted until those items move back to the catalogue.
Customers are encouraged to seek alternative products within Foundry, prior to ordering paid for products within the catalogue
Demand management is in place on centrally funded PPE to ensure product availability to all trusts.
Nitrile gloves will be available via the NHS Supply Chain catalogue as of 3 April 2023, however, customers are encouraged to review any existing stock whilst it lasts in Foundry in the first instance. Stock-out dates will be updated weekly and published on the GOV.UK website. See our Useful Links section to access this ‘Estimated Stock-Outs by PPE Category’.
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
No, while free of charge PPE stocks remain available, there will be no change to the Foundry ordering system. PPE provided via that route will still be supplied and delivered by Clipper
There is no intention to apply demand management to any of the products moving from Foundry to NHS Supply Chain on 3 April 2023.
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. Trust must continue to record their fit test data through ESR. See our Useful Links section to access the NHS England FFP3 resilience principles.
Products will typically be made available on the catalogue up to 4 weeks prior to the transition date from free to paid. This is to ensure there are no supply chain or resilience issues as part of the transition process for risk management purposes.
The 6N Nitrile Gloves will go live on the catalogue on the 3/4/23. If there is any residual stock left at point of transition, gloves will continue to be available via Foundry on a while stocks last basis.
Products available for SUPPE framework suppliers will be available via Stocked, eDirect or in some instances Blue Diamond. Most Known branded products will be stocked for the ranges/sizes that move to paid for model as of 3 April 2023. Stock levels have been calculated on pre COVID-19 and during COVID-19 demand data to ensure as far as possible that supply disruptions do not occur post transition.
Yes, Medicare and Polyco. NPCs are detailed on the product launch page using your customer login details. However, we plan to run a mini competition in the summer, following which it is expected at least one other supplier will be added for 6N Nitrile.
Specifically, for Nitrile gloves, we have procured significant stocks from two suppliers. There is ample global capacity of 6N Nitrile gloves as a result of ramped up manufacturing capability during past 2 years.
We aim to complete the similar procurement process for all product categories.
Products which are subject to Control Demand Management will have this message appear on our online catalogue: ‘Product is suspended due to limited supply requiring demand allocation’.
We are currently looking into adding a message for products subject to Protect Demand Management and we will update in due course. until such time a list of demand managed items is updated and listed on the website each week.
Items will be put under demand management measures if the demand puts an item availability at risk, the same rules will apply to the PPE lines as in the existing core catalogue lines. See our Useful Links for further information on Demand Management and to access the product listing.
Yes, we have 12 weeks Operational Stock build in flight, based on the current demand provided. Stock will be held within the network with stock available to replenish back into the network within 3 days. Robust daily, weekly and monthly reports in place to monitor demand. there should be no need for direct ordering as we have a resilient supply.
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.
Other Healthcare Partners (Non-Acute) Customers
The PPE Portal will continue to be an active system used by Social Care, Primary Care and Public Sector providers to receive critical COVID-19 PPE. The PPE Portal will offer free PPE on products with sufficient stock in line with the latest Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announcement.
Eligible users can order PPE and related items offered on the portal up to their weekly order limits, which are determined by their user group, sector, and size. Order limits on the PPE Portal are kept under review based on the latest public health guidance, COVID-19 trends, and user feedback.
For PPE products where the DHSC stock has been depleted, these products will no longer be available to order for free using order limits, however these will be available to purchase on the PPE Portal via NHS Supply Chain. See our Useful Links for more information on when product categories will transition into a paid model, via the ‘Free Personal Protective Equipment PPE Scheme’.
Yes, eligible customers can order critical COVID-19 PPE in line with weekly order limits until March 2024 (or until stocks are depleted). This is in line with the latest Department of Health and Social Care policy.
No, order limits will be not applied to paid products and there will be no restrictions on purchase quantities.
As of the 3 April 2023, the PPE Portal will offer a card payment functionality in which users can purchase PPE items using a credit or debit card. Please note, we will be accepting VISA and Mastercard cards, but not AMEX.
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 free replacement order or a refund.
If you have any issues or concerns about your product, please contact the PPE Customer Service Team on 0800 876 6802 (open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
Delivery will continue to be free on the PPE Portal for free and paid products.
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.
General/Other
Clipper reduced their delivery frequencies during the latter stages of 2022; however, this can be revisited as stock depletes and there is less centrally funded PPE being delivered.
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. It is worth noting that we also have adequate stock of most key PPE categories as agreed with DHSC.
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.
For stock which has not depleted before April 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care will decide on what to do with this nearer the time and we will communicate to customers on the outcome of this.
Please contact both Lisa White (lisa.white3@supplychain.nhs.uk) and 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.
The dates are forecasted and changeable with demand, therefore we will continue to communicate in month only.
Moving ranges incrementally ensures that we will consume as much free PPE as possible before transition.
Yes, currently we are creating the PPE Demand Capture template. The Voice of the Customer Team and will share with you week commencing 6 March 2023.
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.
The GOV.UK website is updated weekly with the Estimated Stock-Out Dates By PPE Category, see our Useful Links to access this list. We are currently working on sourcing strategies for any products which need to be transitioned within the next year.
No, as most trusts now have their own skilled resources available, the DHSC will end central funding of this programme on 31 March 2023.
Should your trust want to continue to use the service, NHS Supply Chain will offer a Pay as Use option from April 2023. For more details on these, please contact Anton Miedziolka via anton.miedziolka@supplychain.nhs.uk.
If your question is not answered on this webpage please contact your Customer Relationship Manager or Customer Services.
For products yet to transition, contact the PPE Customer Services Team via 0800 876 6802, for free PPE queries only (open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
If you have raised a query via PPE Customer Services and still require additional support, please contact one of the following teams:
· Voice of the Customer team: Host monthly acute and non-acute PPE customer engagement panels where you can raise items for discussion and seek additional support from NHS Supply Chain staff. If you would like to express your interesting in attending these, please email: VoiceoftheCustomer@supplychain.nhs.uk.
· PPE product issues/queries: please only contact this mailbox if you have already contacted the PPE Customer Services team and are following up on a PPE quality issue or concern: productqueries@gxo.com.
· FFP3 and Fit-Testing contacts (trusts only) email: FFP3@supplychain.nhs.uk.
· Foundry support: Foundry.Nationalteam@supplychain.nhs.uk.
