News & views

4 April 2020

A new campaign has launched, calling on businesses in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) to support NHS staff dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The #ppe4nhs campaign is seeking donations of unused PPE from local businesses, particularly those in the engineering, manufacturing and construction sectors.

If your business has cupboards or storerooms with spare brand-new PPE, the NHS desperately needs any supplies they can get.

Businesses are invited to step up as part of their corporate social responsibility and community spirt and donate any spare PPE, without putting their own employees at risk.

There is a specific need for:

• Any fluid resistant surgical masks including, although not exclusively, FFP2 or FFP3 rated (the rating is marked on each mask)
• Nitrile gloves
• Visors or goggles
• Disposable aprons or overalls

To avoid contact and maintain social distancing companies can book a drop off slot and deliver their donations, at an allocated time.

All donated items will be loaded up and, at the end of each day, delivered to the designated NHS point of contact.

To donate, please e-mail [email protected] to arrange a delivery location and time.

The process that will operate is as follows:

• We have drop off centres in each county (but are aiming to have one in each district shortly – that’s where you come in please!)
• Anyone wishing to donate will contact us via the email address above
• We will then liaise with the donating organisation and the drop off point to arrange a convenient time for the donation to be dropped off
• The donating organisation travels to the drop off centre; leaves the donation (and a business card, so we know who’s donated) in the agreed place and departs
• The on-site contact at the drop off site then collects the donation then stores the donation; logs who it’s from and the quantities of PPE received and sends the details to us (we have a template) before, at the end of each day, or couple of days (depending on quantity) either delivering the received donations to the designated distribution centre at an agreed time or – where we can arrange this – retains the donations until an agreed collection time

Please share details of this campaign with your networks and use #ppe4nhs in your social media communications.