{"id":17336,"date":"2026-07-14T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17336"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:03:12","slug":"ppe-failures-left-nhs-staff-poorly-protected-and-wasted-billions-covid-inquiry-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17336","title":{"rendered":"PPE failures left NHS staff poorly protected and wasted billions, Covid inquiry finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), the Covid inquiry has said.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It found that a &#8220;vast amount&#8221; of taxpayers&#8217; money was wasted on PPE &#8211; almost \u00a310bn of the \u00a314.9bn spent by the UK and devolved governments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The country entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a &#8220;perilous state&#8221; and was &#8220;simply not ready to compete&#8221; in the global race to secure new supplies, added the chair Baroness Hallett.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She criticised the controversial &#8220;VIP lane&#8221;, which prioritised offers of PPE from those with political connections, as a &#8220;misguided&#8221; policy which undermined public confidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But she said there was &#8220;no evidence of cronyism or corruption&#8221; by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">When the cost of home testing kits and other equipment, such as ventilators, was included, the total amount spent by the government between January 2020 and June 2022 exceeded \u00a342bn, the inquiry found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The UK&#8217;s emergency stockpile of PPE, meant to last at least 15 weeks before being replenished, was running out by the end of March 2020 as demand from hospitals soared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Only a third of the masks in England&#8217;s pandemic stockpile were usable, the inquiry found, while Scotland had no supplies of high-grade respiratory masks used in hospitals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">At the time, care homes, GP surgeries and pharmacies were all expected to source their own PPE, something the report described as a &#8220;major failure in planning&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; 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