Councils have called for a single system for the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid local government employees being treated as ‘second class workers’.
The call comes as the new Amazon-style Clipper system, which aims to provide a central hub for the supply and distribution of PPE to primary and social care providers, continues to be delayed beyond its original April 6 launch date.
A Local Government Association report said the national Clipper system had been ‘too slow to come on stream,’ forcing providers to face inflated costs and shoddy equipment.
It read: ‘There should be one system for the distribution of PPE rather than care workers and others being treated as second class workers.’
Yesterday it was announced that small care homes would now be able to register on the online PPE portal before it is scaled up nationally.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: 'We are focussing on small care providers because our data shows that, although they account for half of all care provision, they seem to be less likely to be registered with wholesalers.
'It’s therefore important that we ensure that they have the option of quickly joining the portal should they need to.'
