A family-run pest control company that employs just 16 people was awarded a £108million contract to supply the NHS with PPE at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it has emerged.
PestFix, which has net assets of £18,000, received the large contract in April when the Government was under increasing pressure to meet the demand for PPE.
The revelation comes after Matt Hancock last night announced a plan to make face coverings compulsory in hospitals for all staff, visitors and outpatients from June 15.
However, a furious NHS boss insisted the decision was made ‘without any notice or consultation’, as other frontline workers slammed the ‘pointless’ announcement.
PestFix, a family-run pest control company that employs just 16 people, five of which are pictured, was awarded a £108million contract to supply the NHS with PPE at the height of the coronavirus pandemic
The firm, which has net assets of £18,000, received the large contract in April when the Government was under increasing pressure to meet the demand for PPE
Chairman of parliament’s public accounts committee Meg Hillier (pictured) said the committee and the National Audit Office would be scrutinising every contract handed out by the Government
Information collected by research company Tussell shows that the Government has spent a total of £340million on securing enough equipment to supply the NHS.
The Times reports that the chairman of parliament’s public accounts committee Meg Hillier said: ‘The need for PPE for frontline staff is urgent and critical but tendering outside the normal rules can be risky.’
She also said that the committee, alongside the National Audit Office would be scrutinising every contract handed out by the Government.
Normally PestFix supplies customers with supplies for pest control but received the £108million contract after responding to the Government’s call for help.
PestFix founder Dan England said: ‘Some of the bigger players that would normally be supplying this were perhaps not as quick to react or as dynamic.’
Mr England disputed the reported figure of £108million but did not say whether it was too high or too low.
The contract runs for 12 months.
In other developments to Britain’s coronavirus crisis today:
- Care homes are still waiting for Covid tests after weeks of asking – as government rushes out kits to all residences where people are all aged over 65
- Boris Johnson is drawing up a ‘Great Recovery Bill’ to slash red tape and help get the economy moving again
- Militant union chiefs vow to strike over government’s plan for volunteer ‘army’ to hand out free face masks on London Tubes
- Matt Hancock warns protesters not to gather at George Floyd demonstrations this weekend amid fears they are spreading the virus
- WHO finally says everyone should wear a mask while in shops, on public transit or anywhere you can’t keep six feet apart
- Prince William and Kate Middleton reveal they’ve been secretly answering crisis helpline calls and phoning people who are vulnerable during the pandemic
- Health Secretary says country could have localised restrictions after data reveals the crucial R rate is above 1 in North West and South West
The Health Secretary’s announcement that all staff must wear masks came after a similar move on Thursday, when it was revealed face coverings would be compulsory on public transport from the same day.
Mr Hancock said it was required to protect all hospital workers as NHS units gradually reopen their doors for procedures that were delayed by the coronavirus response.
But the announcement sparked fury from leaders in the health service, as Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers accused the Government of ‘rushing’ decisions, which he said were ‘overly influenced by politics and the need to fill the space at the Downing Street press conferences’.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, he said: ‘Two major changes on the use of PPE and on visiting policy were announced late yesterday afternoon at the end of what, to be a frank, was a busy, difficult and hard week for our trust leaders, with absolutely no notice or consultation.
Medical and other staff will have to wear surgical masks at all times, the Health Secretary announced last night
Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, pictured, accused the Government of ‘rushing’ decisions which he said were ‘overly influenced by politics’
Mr Hopson tweeted last night that the change was announced ‘without any notice or consultation’
‘I think it’s the latest in a long line of announcements that have had a major impact on the way the NHS operates in which those organisations feel they have been left completely in the dark and they are then expected to make significant or complex operational changes either immediately or with very little notice.
‘The Government asks our trust leaders to professionally lead 800,000 staff and to interact with a million patients every 36 hours but they just can’t do that job properly if they’re on the end of rushed out Friday afternoon announcements that they actually know very little about.’
The Department of Health insists NHS England was fully aware of last night’s announcement and that bosses have more than a week to prepare, but Mr Hopson said many questions still remained.
Other hospital workers have also been left frustrated by the news, as they took to social media last night and this morning.
NHS staff member Maggie Mannifield wrote: ‘Nice to find out I have to wear a mask at work via a daily briefing…..been feeling worried about working in a hospital since March, and using the same toilets, canteen, stair rails, lifts etc and touching doors….the only way I would catch it is at work with doing nothing else.’
Another frontline worker, JoJo Quinn questioned why the rule had not been brought in sooner.
She said: ‘So I caught Covid in March and @MattHancock is now saying I have to wear a mask at work as I work in a hospital. Why did you not make this needed for all staff in march and perhaps i wouldn’t have caught it #TooLittleTooLate #Covid19UK’.
In another tweet, she added: ‘I have been working in non clinical area of my hospital for past 3 months. We are only allowed 3 in a room where usually was 5 as we work from home some days but wondering why I never had to wear a mask before now. Yet most of us caught Covid in our dept. It’s too late.’
A user under the name of The Witchy Woman shared a similar sentiment, writing: ‘I am now required to wear a mask at work (I’m in a hospital). Even at the peak of infection this wasn’t required. Seems pointless now. I have serious concerns, most don’t use single use masks but washable one and I doubt hygiene is up to scratch.’
Geriatrician Emily McNicholas, from South Yorkshire, added: ‘If we now have to wear a mask at all times in the hospital, how does eating in the canteen work??’
Last month it emerged that the Government had awarded £1billion of state contracts to companies without public tender.
Companies including Randox Laboratories and US-run Brake Bros were among the companies to have been handed contracts.
The Government fast-tracked the rules on awarding state contracts so that they didn’t have to allow a time period for other companies to bid for the work.
The contracts included a voucher scheme for children for free school meals, providing food boxes for vulnerable people and coronavirus testing services.
At least 177 contracts have been handed to companies by the government to deal with the pandemic.
115 of those contracts were awarded under the fast-track route.