Almost 600,000 PPE items handed to front line workers in Wolverhampton
Almost 600,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been handed out to front line workers in Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton Council has distributed a total of 597,391 items to healthcare workers, bin crews, and other staff amid coronavirus.
It comes after chiefs bought hundreds of thousands of PPE – with businesses and people in the city coming forward to donate to the effort.
Councillor Linda Leach, cabinet member for adult services, said: "We're determined to do all we can to keep our city’s frontline staff safe as they continue their vital work to support people throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
"Despite a global shortage, we've been able to source vital items of PPE and had a tremendous response for donations from people and businesses in Wolverhampton.
"We’re continuing to work as quickly as we can to ensure we get the kit out to those frontline staff who need it, not just those working for the council but also for local care providers and other organisations who have found it hard to get PPE through their normal channels.
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"I’d like to thank everyone who is involved in this process, in particular our commissioning team who are liaising with providers about the PPE they need, and our community equipment service who have taken on the complex job of distributing items to organisations around the city."
The figure includes more than 150,000 masks, almost 270,000 pairs of gloves, more than 172,000 aprons and gowns, 425 litres of hand sanitiser and 3,435 items of eyewear.
Around 114,00 pieces were distributed to providers who have not been able to get them through their usual channels last week – with a peak of 122,138 items handed out the week before.
Chiefs expect to have distributed one million items of PPE within the next month.
