Is England Withholding Protective Supplies From Scotland And Wales?

British expats in Spain and across Europe are horrified and angry over reports that the UK government is halting deliveries of much-needed personal protective equipment to Wales and Scotland.

Although the Scottish government is denying knowing anything about this and other sources are muttering ‘fake news’, the report is clear in that Public Health England is instructing manufacturers of essential PPE protective clothing to only supply English hospitals. The website of one such, Wiltshire-based Gompels Healthcare, states customers must be operating and registered as such in England. It adds an apology to Scotland and Wales, saying it believes the two excluded regions use different processes to access essential supplies for care home use.

Taking the possible scandal further, a BBC interview featuring CEO of Scottish Care Dr Donald Macaskill reported priority was indeed being given to English care homes and the NHS as stated in reports from various sources. Scottish MPs and concerned members of the public are now linking the story to the fact that, at the last election, Scotland’s residents voted almost unanimously for the Scottish National Party as well as voting ‘stay’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Items said to be reserved for English usage in care homes include face masks, gowns and gloves, all of which have been and still are in short supply, resulting in a number of deaths in the healthcare community. Mortality rates in care homes are said to be higher than in the general population, implying that those working in healthcare are more likely to become infected than those in general hospitals outside the public/private care system.

For British expats living in Spain whose elderly parents are either in hospital or in care in the UK, the reports are causing concern and fear for their loved ones’ chances of losing their lives due to a shortage of the correct protective equipment and the resulting spike in infections. Should the reports not be fake, or even simply exaggerated, news, a major scandal may be lurking in the wings.