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More than $ 37 million in personal protective equipment (PPE) imported to deal with the coronavirus pandemic was never used because it did not meet safety standards, according to the latest annual report from the Ministry of Health.
Another $ 34.5 million in costs was written off at the end of the year through June 30 because PPE prices had fallen dramatically between the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a global scramble for teams, including masks, and time the ministry had to balance its books.
While experts have said the figures reflect the cost of taking extraordinary measures to prepare for the virus, they also raised concerns that companies continue to profit from the pandemic by making defective products.
Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said the $ 37 million figure was disappointing.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
King George Diones is a surgical nurse who propagates and sells indoor plants. He is currently giving all the proceeds to his colleagues in the Philippines to purchase PPE. (Video first published in August 2020)
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“Our level of public health preparedness was not as good as we would have liked, because proactive national public health capacity has not been something we have invested in previously,” he said.
Now, health officials realize that preparing for a pandemic requires investment “before something goes wrong, not after,” he said.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
Infectious disease expert Dr. Siouxsie Wiles says the real story is that companies continue to make faulty personal protective equipment.
In the future, money should be spent on equipment that is fit for purpose, including equipment that will accommodate larger and smaller people and those with facial hair, Dalton said.
The ministry’s annual report, released during Christmas week, outlined the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on New Zealand’s healthcare sector.
It showed that the ministry spent $ 92 million in support of general practices when the country entered a level 4 lockdown; $ 79 million in managed isolation or quarantine facilities; and $ 38 million in Covid-19 testing.
In total, the ministry also spent $ 108 million on additional PPE, including protective masks, face masks, gloves and other protective clothing, for the frontline healthcare workforce and essential services workforce.
But at the end of the year and through June 30, the ministry took a hit of $ 71.5 million for “inventory deterioration,” about half of which was the result of adjusting for market fluctuations. When the virus began to spread around the world in February, governments around the world began trying to prepare by stockpiling PPE, causing prices to spike.
About $ 34 million in PPE was written off, in accordance with public sector accounting guidelines, while $ 37 million in PPE was never distributed.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Dr Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist at the University of Auckland, has consistently provided Kiwis with information, progress and assurance throughout the pandemic. Here’s what you know about the virus and why it spread around the world so quickly.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles, an infectious disease expert at the University of Auckland, said the $ 37 million figure is not surprising. Other countries had also spent “huge” amounts of money on PPE that were not fit for purpose.
“The real story is how many companies [operate] to profit from the pandemic, which continues to this day, “he said.
A spokeswoman for the Health Ministry said that since PPE producers had increased production and New Zealand had managed to control the virus, the ministry was now in a good position.
“Global PPE prices continue to fluctuate and we continue to monitor this,” he said. “We have good forward orders for PPE for next year and this is helping to protect fluctuations in global prices.”
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Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, says the figure is disappointing and speaks to the country’s level of preparedness.
The ministry could not confirm which items were among those discarded, but they did not include masks, which initially raised concerns, but were eventually authorized for use.
“Our processes include reviewing the test certificates before purchase and then, when the product arrives in the country, comparing the received product with the test certificates,” said the spokeswoman.
The ministry could not confirm when the discarded equipment was purchased or where it was manufactured. He was also unable to confirm what was wrong with the team, or what exactly was done with it.
“When PPE has arrived in New Zealand that has not met our quality standards, we discuss it with the supplier and work on the appropriate repair,” he said.
In March, as Covid-19 was spreading across Europe, China embarked on a frenzy of “mask diplomacy”, exporting large numbers of medical masks, test kits and ventilators to countries affected by the virus. At the time, analysts said this was part of an aggressive effort by China to try to offset the blame for the pandemic, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
It repurposed factories that make everything from cars to iPhones into PPE makers to try to meet global demand, while some Chinese entrepreneurs also tried to get in on the action.
But countries like Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands rejected the China-made equipment, saying it was substandard or faulty, and recalled faulty PPE that had already been sent to front-line medical personnel.
