Health Secretary Jeane Freeman accuses Matt Hancock of ‘apparent contradiction’ over PPE

Ms Freeman said at least one company claimed it had been told to divert PPE from Scotland.

Scottish Health Secretary, Jean Freeman, accused her English counterpart of an “apparent contradiction” over the diversion of PPE supplies from Scotland.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Freeman said Matt Hancock had assured her that neither the Department for Health and Social Care, nor Public Health England had issued a requirement to PPE manufacturers to favour England over Scotland.

But, she claimed, at least one company had a notice on its website saying that it had been told to divert its supplies to England.

Ms Freeman said she has written to Mr Hancock to resolve the issue. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Ms Freeman said she had written to Mr Hancock again, pointing out the “apparent contradiction”, and asking him to resolve it.

“It may be a misunderstanding,” she told interviewers, “Whatever it is, it needs to be resolved.”

Pressed on whether the Scottish government had done enough to help the private care sector access PPE, Ms Freeman said “of course we have.”

She said she had ordered National Services Scotland, which procures equipment for NHS Scotland, to “widen its scope” and help “top up” PPE in the care sector.

It comes after reports that the Scottish care sector was struggling to supply its staff with essential pieces of PPE.

Dr Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, said: “The four largest companies in the UK last week said they were not sending to Scotland and their priority was going to be England NHS and the English social care providers.

“So within two or three days we have had a massive dry-up of procurement into Scotland and that’s had an impact – a really serious impact on our care homes and home care.”

Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director for Scotland, initially cast doubt on the claims.

But at yesterday’s press conference, the First Minister said her ministers were investigating the situation “urgently”, and that any diversion of PPE resources away from Scotland would be “unconscionable”.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Frank O'Donnell

Editorial Director