Major milestone as two million pieces of personal protective equipment is given to Calderdale's social care providers

Protecting residents and staff in social care has been one of the Council’s priorities throughout the pandemic.

Teams have been supporting vulnerable residents, contacting all care providers daily and providing them with essential PPE such as face masks, gloves and gowns.

The Council delivered over 35,000 pieces of equipment in the last week alone, and has four months’ worth of PPE available for all of Calderdale’s care providers.

This was a much stronger position than in the early days of lockdown, when the national shortage of PPE was a key challenge.

However, a continuous supply has been ensured throughout, thanks to effective partnership working between the Council and other organisations, and kind donations from local communities, businesses and even other countries.

Councillor Bob Metcalfe, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services and Wellbeing, said: “I’d like to thank all the care workers in Calderdale who carry out their work so compassionately. Protecting them and the residents in our care is vital. The delivery of over two million pieces of PPE is a major milestone and highlights the continued efforts across the borough to control COVID-19.

“Fortunately, we’re continuing to see a low number of new COVID-19 cases in care homes and in people receiving care at home. But we are not complacent. As we head into the colder months, we need to keep on top of not only the virus, but also the usual winter pressures on the health and care sectors. It is reassuring that we have a strong supply of 120 days’ worth of PPE to ensure local care providers have enough equipment.”

The Council’s local PPE collection and distribution process will soon be supported by an independent national system. Local care providers are signing up to the new system, which will enable them to directly access PPE themselves.