PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Protective Clothing: Females (2 November 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that women working in the NHS are provided with a full range of scrubs and personal protective equipment in sizes that meet their needs.

Asked by:
Fleur Anderson (Labour)

We are committed to understanding workers’ needs. Following anecdotal feedback, NHS England and NHS Improvement have launched a project led by the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer to gather the robust evidence and data we need to understand any problems and take action.

Getting a range of the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) frontline staff require is of paramount importance. Our buying teams are aware of the various different categories they need to buy, and source as many different sizes as possible.

We are moving from a system of quality control to quality assurance, with the onus on quality assurance at source, while building user confidence around product quality and reliability in addition to driving a more efficient supply with lower waste and higher user acceptance.

Answered by:
Jo Churchill (Conservative)
27 November 2020