PPE failures left NHS staff poorly protected and wasted £10bn, Covid inquiry finds

The Covid inquiry found that PPE failures put NHS staff and patients at risk. Of the £14.9bn spent by the UK, nearly £10bn was wasted. The country entered the pandemic with its PPE stockpile in a perilous state, and only a third of masks in England were usable. Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett described the waste as 'vast' and noted an overreliance on China.