Personal protective equipment (PPE) and Infection Prevention and Control Procedures

NHS England guidance on the supply and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

The government have pulled together all the infection control and PPE guidance into the Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) hub. This includes:

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) illustrated guide for community and social care settings
• COVID-19: how to work safely in care homes
• COVID-19: how to work safely in domiciliary care – including visiting homecare, extra care housing, and live-in homecare.
• Supported living services during COVID-19
• Guidance on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

You should continue to use the full government guidance on infection prevention and control with your local policies. The guidance includes:

• Visual guide to best practice hand wash
• Visual guide to best practice hand rub

Where you have concerns regarding the suitability of a delivered PPE product, you can now directly raise these by contacting the Customer Service Team using one of the below:

• Phone: 0800 876 6802
• Webform

When using the webform, please enter 'unknown' for the fields you cannot complete.

Should you need to escalate an unanswered product query or issue, please email PPECell.

National PPE portal for routine and emergency supplies: how to order emergency personal protective equipment.

The National PPE portal that was initially established for emergency supplies can now be used to order routine PPE to meet the increased need that has arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has committed to providing free PPE to the below listed health and social care providers for all their COVID-19 PPE needs until the end of June 2021.

You should continue to obtain any PPE you were using before the pandemic through your usual routes.

The PPE portal can be used by:

• GPs
• residential social care providers
• domiciliary social care providers
• pharmacies
• dentists
• orthodontists
• optometrists
• children’s care homes and secure homes
• children’s residential special schools
• community drug and alcohol services
• residential drug and alcohol services.

If you’re a provider in one of these categories, your invitation to register will be sent to your email account registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS Business Services Authority (BSA), NHS England or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Information about children’s social care providers is supplied to DHSC by the Department for Education.

If you have any questions about using the PPE portal please call the customer service team on 0800 876 6802. The team is available from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week, to help resolve your queries.

Buckinghamshire Council can provide emergency supplies only to these providers. If you require emergency PPE from Buckinghamshire Council please contact us at [email protected] providing a brief description of why and what emergency stock is required e.g. COVID-19 outbreak.

Providers will need to collect their PPE from a local collection hub in Aylesbury, Amersham or High Wycombe (details below).

Buckinghamshire Council can provide routine Covid-19 PPE for other key services that are not able to access the PPE Portal. These supplies are to cover any additional PPE that you are using because of Covid-19. You should continue to obtain any PPE you were using before the pandemic through your usual routes.

For a list of eligible services and to place an order, please view ourRequest COVID-19 PPE page.

Supplies will need to be collected from a local collection hub (see details below).

If you have any queries relating to Covid-19 PPE supply, please contact us at [email protected].

If you cannot get PPE through any other route and have run out or will do so imminently, contact the National Supply Disruption Response (NSDR) on 0800 915 9964.

1. wash your hands for at least 20 seconds
2. if hand washing facilities are not available, use an alcohol gel with a concentration of 60% or above
3. All PPE should be single use, with a couple of exceptions. Masks and eye protection can now be kept on for a whole “session” of care (defined as a period of time where you are undertaking duties in a specific care setting/exposure environment, such as a house, ward or clinic. A session ends when you leave that area, whether to take a break, moving on to a different home in community care or on finishing your shift - whichever happens first).
4. used PPE should be disposed of in double sealed plastic waste bags, stored in a secure place for 72 hours then put in your normal waste collection service
5. PPE only provides protection if used with the correct procedure for putting on and taking off

It is important to know the right way to put on and take off PPE. How you take off your PPE is just as important as how you put it on.

This PPE guidance video produced by NHS doctors and nurses shows the correct PPE ‘donning and doffing’ process to use when dealing with clients or patients who have suspected or confirmed coronavirus.

Remember the order for putting on PPE is:

1. Apron
2. Mask
3. Eye protection (if needed)
4. Gloves

The order for taking it off is:

1. Gloves
2. Apron
3. Eye protection (if used)
4. Mask

Aerosol generating procedures require a higher level of PPE as they increase the risk to people in the immediate area because they generate fine droplets. Fine droplets can travel further and are more easily inhaled.

Aerosol generating procedures include:

• Intubation and extubation
• Manual ventilation and open suctioning
• Tracheotomy and tracheostomy procedures
• Bronchoscopy
• Surgery and post-mortem procedures involving high-speed devices
• Some dental procedures (such as high-speed drilling)

For further resources, please visit our PPE in Care Settings: refocus and reinforce webpage.