£45m Deal For NHS Masks Collapses Amid Fraud Claims

Millions of medical masks purchased by the British government for £45m are missing after a major PPE deal collapsed amid accusations of fraud, the Guardian can reveal.

The Department of Health and Social Care paid its supplier Purple Surgical upfront for 5m FFP3 respirator masks, which were supposed to have been flown into Birmingham international airport by June.

But Purple Surgical, a Hertfordshire-based company that has signed deals worth almost £250m with the DHSC since the pandemic began, has been unable to supply the masks.

£45m Deal For NHS Masks Collapses Amid Fraud Claims



Talk about precious timing???

One would imagine crap like this should not really be taking place given the current state of play.

Hopefully, the problem gets rectified rather soon, given that our PPE, is currently the only tool we have in the bag that may help prevent the spread of COVID 19.

a reply to: andy06shake

N95 masks (the ones pictured) don't do what needs to be done according to the "experts". The idea is you need to stop what is being breathed out. N95 does not do this at all. Breathing out is unfiltered. Breathing in is filtered. So they'd work great to keep people on a COVID unit from getting sick. Would do next to nothing at keeping someone with COVID from infecting others.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

My understanding is that masks help prevent the spread of this disease and the NHS tends to agree hence their order.

Our frontline keyworkers require the tools they need to do the job and a mask is one of them or so it seems.

www.ucsf.edu...
www.ox.ac.uk...
www.stlukesonline.org...

And by the looks of things science also agrees.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

My understanding is that masks help prevent the spread of this disease and the NHS tends to agree hence their order.

Our frontline keyworkers require the tools they need to do the job and a mask is one of them or so it seems.

www.ucsf.edu...
www.ox.ac.uk...
www.stlukesonline.org...

And by the looks of things science also agrees.

Masks, yes. But not N95. Thats now how they function.

The little paper masks (in the states they are blue with elastic ear loops) are what you should wear to prevent the spread of COVID. N95 is what you wear to keep from picking up COVID from others who cannot wear a mask.

That picture is of the wrong mask. So the Guardian fails to research the picture associated with the story. Not like it can possibly kill people. Oh wait, it might.

a reply to: beyondknowledge
It's from the guardian article.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I'm not really up for debating the veracity of how much protection face masks offer.

They offer up some protection, which is better than the alternative.

The N95 masks are deemed critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers, and other medical first responders, as recommended by your own current CDC guidance.

If our NHS did not need them they would not have ordered them.

Fraudulent deals at a time like this is below the belt imho.

a reply to: andy06shake
Those vented masks offer no protection. The valve literally opens when breathing out.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

Just from the article mate, in the Guardian.

I don't know how they work, but i know the NHS needs the equipment.

Archived Version because of that annoying ass popup that covers the whole article.

To be fair, maybe they just couldn't find a stock image of the masks they are talking about. Maybe they are not actually talking about the vented masks, they just used a picture of the wrong masks

a reply to: andy06shake

They have the wrong mask pictured. It is useless for covid spread. The ones that work don't have the valve.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

Well either way i really hope this gets sorted out and the PPE required is forthcoming.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I'm not really up for debating the veracity of how much protection face masks offer.

They offer up some protection, which is better than the alternative.

The N95 masks are deemed critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers, and other medical first responders, as recommended by your own current CDC guidance.

If our NHS did not need them they would not have ordered them.

Fraudulent deals at a time like this is below the belt imho.

you don't seem to understand the concept here. He's not saying masks don't work. He's explaining to you that the N95 masks are for filtering INCOMING air and the outgoing air is not filtered. There is a plastic (valve) that has a flapper on it. We use them in pesticide applications.

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but educate first, it helps.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I'm not really up for debating the veracity of how much protection face masks offer.

They offer up some protection, which is better than the alternative.

The N95 masks are deemed critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers, and other medical first responders, as recommended by your own current CDC guidance.

If our NHS did not need them they would not have ordered them.

Fraudulent deals at a time like this is below the belt imho.

I can agree. I was just offering a PSA.

a reply to: network dude

Is the mask provided in the article the correct picture?

"A key strategy for protecting health care workers on the frontlines of fighting the highly transmissible novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is the use of personal protective equipment, including the type of face mask known as an N95 respirator or N95 mask. When used properly, these masks filter out at least 95% of airborne particles. But used without training, the masks could not only expose workers to the virus but also lull them into thinking they are protected."

My understanding is the masks are required. I imagine they train their staff on how to use them properly.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: network dude

Is the mask provided in the article the correct picture?

"A key strategy for protecting health care workers on the frontlines of fighting the highly transmissible novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is the use of personal protective equipment, including the type of face mask known as an N95 respirator or N95 mask. When used properly, these masks filter out at least 95% of airborne particles. But used without training, the masks could not only expose workers to the virus but also lull them into thinking they are protected."

My understanding is the masks are required. I imagine they train their staff on how to use them properly.

They work well at keeping the wearer from being infected. So if you work on a COVID unit, where the patients obviously aren't wearing masks, etc...they will do a good job of preventing you from getting COVID (assuming its worn properly, and sealed properly).

But for you and I, walking down the street...they don't do what is needed. Your breath out is unfiltered, so if you have COVID you will still be spreading it to others. The masks we wear filter out microspherules and droplets to keep others from getting sick. At least, that is the theory currently.

My .02, which is taken from an infection control nurse that i've known for ages and have respect for, is that if you aren't working on a COVID unit you shouldn't wear a mask of any type save for short periods. While the logic the CDC gives makes sense, the issue lies in the fact that most people keep masks for days. For a mask to actually be effective without making you sick by building up other germs, it should be swapped every few hours, not every few days.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

but they make people feel good about doing something, and let's face it, that all this mask wearing crappos is about. It was exposed at the very beginning and flooded with misinformation so that people wouldn't overly panic. This is why a tee shirt placed over a persons mouth is as good as a ball-gag in stopping the spread.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I've just got a wee black cloth one with removable layers anyhoo.

And plenty of the other ones (blue with white elastic ear loops over here) that you mentioned.

It's good that you point out the need to change them out regularly, a load of people probably don't consider the notion.

What's the deal with washing the fabric ones?

I imagine that would degrade their functionality over time also.

PMSL at all you deniers.

We are talking about the masks being used on COVID wards, and there you are arguing that they are only good enough in those environments.

Regardless of their effectiveness, the fact that £45million has been wasted doesn’t seem to matter. Yet, if it was a left leaning Government, you would all be jumping up and down, bemoaning the fact communism doesn’t work and here is your proof.

Think about it for a moment, before jumping in for the sakes of it.

Two observations... First one, that cost is £9 per mask, unless I missed something. That's some mask, surely not a disposable one.

Second, observation on the thread... we don't use N95 in EU/UK we use FFP3 or FFP2. FFP2 = N95, FFP3 =