Personal protective equipment items issued: up to 6 December 2020
Management information update on personal protective equipment (PPE) items issued during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic up to 6 December 2020.
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In this page
1. Main results
These statistics show the latest number of PPE items which have been issued to the health and social care system in Wales.
- Since 9 March 2020, the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) has issued just over 493 million items of PPE to the health and social care sectors in Wales. Around 245 million of these were issued to the social care sector.
- In the seven days to Sunday 6 December 2020 13.3 million items were issued.
- The weekly number of PPE items issued has increased from March 2020 reaching a peak of 20.2 million in May 2020. Since September the number of items issued has fluctuated between 11 and 14 million.
| Item | Since 9 March 2020 | In the seven days to 6 December 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Aprons | 92,764,450 | 2,343,625 |
| Body bags | 9,033 | 25 |
| Eye protector | 1,619,558 | 963 |
| Type I and Type II masks | 1,020,800 | 19,900 |
| Type IIR masks | 119,011,119 | 2,639,250 |
| FFP2 masks | 117,150 | 440 |
| FFP3 masks | 2,227,633 | 19,880 |
| Face visors | 3,949,626 | 89,512 |
| Fit test kits and spares | 5,656 | 76 |
| Gloves | 262,756,150 | 7,904,070 |
| Gloves cuff | 1,244,100 | 10,150 |
| Gowns (fluid-resistant) | 1,566,950 | 37,155 |
| Gowns (other) | 503,981 | 20,799 |
| Hand sanitiser | 328,464 | 17,395 |
| Hand wipes | 5,901,900 | 190,750 |
| Respirator filters | 22,176 | 0 |
| Respirator hoods | 102 | 0 |
| Total | 493,048,848 | 13,293,990 |
Source: NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
The reporting of PPE items issued is based on individual units, except for:
- gloves where a unit is reported based on the unit size of a pack
- hand sanitiser where the unit is a bottle regardless of size
Please note: This data is subject to revisions and previous publications are not revised. The latest figures are the most up to date and cumulative figures will include any historical revisions.
2. Quality and methodology information
This data is management information provided to the Welsh Government by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP). NWSSP procures and distributes PPE for the health and social care sectors in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government. We are publishing this to provide a weekly summary of PPE items issued while it remains relevant to the response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This data has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics and the data may be subject to future revisions.
Local health boards request items of PPE from NWSSP via an online system. These items are then distributed from the NWSSP warehouses on scheduled delivery slots. Processes also exist for local health boards to request emergency deliveries of PPE if needed, and these emergency deliveries of PPE are included in this data. It is possible for some items to occasionally be rationed if stocks are low. Local health boards hold their own stocks of PPE and may also obtain supplies separately to this process. Data includes stock issued from NWSSP only and does not include any stock procured directly by the NHS or local authorities. The data will include PPE procured directly by NWSSP as well as PPE distributed to NWSSP by the UK Government. It reflects a snapshot at a point in time of a dynamic position.
This release reports on PPE items issued since 9 March 2020 as this represents the point at which the current reporting arrangements were established.
Data included in this release is correct at 8pm on 6 December 2020.
National Statistics status
These statistics are not National Statistics. However, as far as has been practicable, they have been collected and validated in accordance with the pillars and principles within the Code of Practice for Statistics. We continue to develop the data collection and quality assurance process to improve the data.
These statistics have been produced quickly in response to developing world events.
Well-being of Future Generations Act
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators ('national indicators') that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before the National Assembly. The 46 national indicators were laid in March 2016.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the well-being goals and associated technical information is available in the Well-being of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.
Next update
This is currently a weekly statistical release. It will be published at 09:30am every Thursday. We will review the frequency in line with changing user need.
The next release will be on Thursday 17 December 2020.
We want your feedback
We welcome any feedback on any aspect of these statistics which can be provided by email to kas.covid19@gov.wales.
3. Contact details
Statistician: Abi Woodham
Telephone: 0300 025 1053
Email: kas.covid19@gov.wales
Media: 0300 025 8099
SFR 228/2020