Community pharmacies in England will continue to receive the free protective equipment (PPE) as the Government’s scheme has been extended for another year until March 2024.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that it will continue to supply all categories of PPE, free of charge, for frontline health and social care staff according to demand until the end of March 2024, or when stocks run out.
Last year, DHSC implemented a new and improved portal platform for eligible providers to access free COVID-19 related PPE supplies.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Commitee (PSNC) said: “Community pharmacy teams can continue to order PPE from the NHS PPE portal for free for as long as stock is available.”
“By the time the scheme closes in March 2024, it is expected that ordering of PPE stock will be significantly reduced and as such any further PPE requests will incur a charge.”
