LOCAL care homes in the Westbury are facing an ongoing issue in obtaining a constant supply and resupply of face masks.
The issue has been highlighted by Wiltshire councillors Gordon & Carole King who spent Tuesday (14th April) phoning round care homes and care agencies in Westbury or who cover Westbury.
“One issue that was common to most was that whilst their supply chain is generally working well there is nevertheless an ongoing difficulty in obtaining a constant supply and resupply of face masks,” said the councillors.
“All commented on the recent spike in the costs of masks. One employer said that they ‘will run of masks by the end of the week unless resupply occurred quickly’.
“We have passed on to Wiltshire Council the names and contact details of the most affected and have received back from the Council to a commitment to follow up and sort out this issue in the supply chain.
“Face Masks are a vital component of PPE that enables these dedicated workers to carry on. Working without face masks places these dedicated people at unnecessary danger of catching the virus.
“We hope that Wiltshire Council is feeding back to government this difficulty in the supply chain to ensure Wiltshire gets its fair share of equipment during the crisis.”
Gordon and Carole called the care homes and agencies to find out if all is well and if there are any specific difficulty or interruption to their supply chain which we could bring to the attention of Wiltshire Council on their behalf.
“We were very pleased to discover that all of our care homes are currently free of the virus and have effective procedures to remain that way,” said Gordon and Carole.
“We were also encouraged to find that all homes and care agencies are reporting appropriate staffing levels and commitment of staff to provide care and attention of their vulnerable clients. We passed on our heartfelt appreciation to all.”
