Asleep at the wheel

Dear
John
,

Today it was announced that over 300 NHS and care workers have died as a result of coronavirus. An expert in corporate manslaughter has said point blank that some of these deaths were avoidable with proper PPE.

So why has it felt like companies have been offering protective equipment left, right and centre, with no answer from the government?

The NHS Supply Chain, responsible for procuring and delivering PPE during the coronavirus crisis, has itself been privatised, leaving a mish mash of contractors and a system incapable of delivering when it was needed most.
Read our 500 word summary now! ([link removed])
Our new report, Privatised and Unprepared, shows that the disastrous sourcing and distribution of PPE has been caused by a privatised supply chain which has four levels of profit between the equipment and staff.

The system is supposed to deliver "efficiency savings", £2.4 billion pounds of them. In reality, supplies have been rationed and the country left unprepared.

This has severely undermined the national effort to protect our NHS and care staff and patients. We need those who stand behind our NHS to shout about this.
Read more now ([link removed])

There are plenty of “bad apples” in the story – companies whose track record, philosophy, and priorities mean that they shouldn’t have been entrusted with the responsibilities they were given.

Like Unipart, who are responsible for delivering PPE through its £730 million NHS logistics contract. Unipart’s CEO promised to ‘cure the NHS’ in 2013 but its “just in time” approach goes against the need to stockpile medical goods, such as PPE.

Or the crisis cell in the Cabinet office run by Deloitte, that failed to respond to the 8,000 frustrated emails from would-be suppliers.

But this isn’t just a story about bad apples (though there are so many more stories to tell). It is a story of a deeply flawed system that has helped turn the pandemic into an utter disaster, one which creates a range of risks.

It's thanks to the work of David Hall of PSIRU, John Lister of The Lowdown ([link removed]) and Helen Mercer, a senior lecturer of University of Greenwich now retired, that these scandals have come to light now.

To share your feelings about the privatisation of our NHS, and all the pain and distress this has caused for the people of this country, read our report summary here ([link removed]) , and please do share articles on the report far and wide!

We've had coverage from the New European ([link removed]) , The Canary ([link removed]) , and The Morning Sta ([link removed]) r on this and we've written a piece for Tribune ([link removed]) too!

These are difficult times. Thank you so much for your support, for all the action you're taking and for believing in our NHS. Thank you to all of you who donate - you've made this report possible.

Solidarity,

Cat, Alice, Pascale, Ellen and Chris - the We Own It team

P.S. The Trade Bill went through its second reading yesterday. An amendment didn't get through this stage, however we've still got time! Watch Ellen's update video here ([link removed]) and book yourself onto our trainings ([link removed]) , so that you can convince your MP to support protection for the NHS before it's too late!
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Copyright © 2020 We Own It, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
We Own It
The Old Music Hall
106-108 Cowley Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX4 1JE
United Kingdom

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

See our ** privacy policy ([link removed])
to find out how we handle your data

Have you had a look through our shop yet? ** Check it out! ([link removed])