Charities play vital role in complementing work of the NHS

Responding to the chancellor's announcement of additional funding for charities, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said:

"This is the right thing to do.

"Trusts work in close partnership with a range of charitable organisations – as well as their own bespoke charities – that make a huge contribution to the wellbeing of patients, staff and communities.

"There is a strong shared commitment to public service and compassion, and a can-do mindset that allows charities to complement and enhance the work of the health service.

"In our ongoing dialogue with trust leaders we have heard how much trust leaders value the contribution of charities they work with, together with concerns over how they can continue to operate in the current environment.

"Just today for example, we have heard of further cases of trusts providing personal protective equipment for hospice staff, and raising concerns over hospice funding and the closure of charities’ shops.

"So we welcome the chancellor’s announcement, and hope the funding will help to shore up this vital sector."

Securing a sustainable supply of gowns

Responding to concerns at a number of trusts over the supply of clinical gowns, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:

"We know how important it is for trust leaders that frontline staff have confidence in their safety equipment as they treat and care for patients. We have been raising this with national NHS leaders.

"They tell us that they believe there are sufficient stocks of gowns already in the system and due for delivery shortly. But distribution is still “lumpy”, with concerns over supplies being greater in some places than others.

"The national leaders say this is where, working as one NHS, it is important for mutual aid to kick in and for trusts with significant supply to share appropriately with others, and that they can do this in the knowledge that further deliveries of gowns are scheduled to arrive shortly.

"They also stress the importance of the recent guidance update on gowns – where they only need to be changed for every session rather than for every patient - so reducing the numbers required.

"We have argued that it would be helpful for trusts to have more detail on current and estimated future stock levels, and delivery timings.

"We've been struck by how, compared to other nations, we don’t seem to be having the debate about sustainability of PPE stock. The greatest PPE risk is running out of stock at some point so it must be used in a way that’s sustainable.

"We also understand gown alternatives will be delivered as a backup, such as "coveralls" which are already popular with some staff groups."