Companies including Amazon, the Royal Mint and Jaguar Land Rover have stepped up to get more PPE to healthcare workers

NHS and social care staff in the UK are set to receive millions of items of personal protective equipment (PPE) over the coming months thanks to new, innovative collaborations with a number of organisations, the government has announced.

Companies including Amazon, the Royal Mint, Jaguar Land Rover and eBay are supporting the government’s ongoing efforts to get PPE to the hardworking frontline staff, at no additional cost to the taxpayer.

This follows a call-to-action from the government for UK businesses to use their existing manufacturing power and expertise to meet the growing demand for protective equipment.

More than 200 potential manufacturers have been identified and many have been contracted to make over 25 million items of PPE and deliver 12 million square metres of PPE fabric to produce items like gowns, gloves and aprons.

Deliveries have already started, including contracts for 2.5 million aprons and 50,000 bottles of hand sanitiser a week. Firms will be supported through the regulatory, testing and procurement process in less than a month to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

“In continuing to tackle this global pandemic we outlined the need for a great national effort to ensure our frontline NHS and social care continue to have all the equipment they need.

“The support from businesses who accepted this challenge has been phenomenal.

“International demand for PPE has never been so high, and we are now working with over 1,000 businesses and establishing a British manufacturing base, which will see tens of millions of extra items of PPE delivered to the frontline in the coming weeks alone.

“I want to thank Lord Deighton for his work leading this national effort, and everyone who has stepped up to the plate.”