Contract Notice of Award for PPE relating to Covid

The Contract Award Notice placed on 1st May 2020 relates to a purchase for 100,000 FFP2 from Bates Office Services at a cost of £295k. The Contract Award Notice placed on 30th March relates to a purchase for 250,000 visors from Pure Innovations at a cost of £475k.

The rationale that went into the Award Notice is as follows: Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a serious infectious respiratory disease; consequences pose a risk to life. The Covid-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 30 January 2020.

Europe was the centre of the pandemic. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical in safeguarding the health and lives of the care professionals treating patients with Covid-19.

Delays in procuring the PPE poses a risk to life of those on the front line and the likelihood of a significantly increased death toll. In March 2020, the NHS experienced severe shortages of PPE; a modelling exercise based on the trajectory of other European countries forecast the need for a significant and extremely rapid increase in the requirement for PPE within the UK.

Similar shortfalls in PPE stocks were identified globally. There was immense demand for PPE and a procurement following the usual timescales under the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015, including accelerated options, was impossible.

PPE manufacturers and supply chains were under immediate and unprecedented global pressure to provide products. A delay in engaging with the market by running a usual procurement process ran the risk of failing to acquire the necessary stock of PPE equipment and presenting a significant risk to life. Mid Cheshire Hospitals is satisfied the tests permitting use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(c)) were met: As far as is strictly necessary: PPE was identified as strictly necessary to meet anticipated demand on the NHS during the first wave of cases