Chinese ambassador in briefing with HSE over ‘unsuitable’ 20% of supplied PPE

Chinese suppliers of personal protection equipment (PPE) are working with the HSE to ensure the unsatisfactory consignment sent to Ireland last week will be replaced, the Chinese embassy in Dublin said.

In response to queries from The Irish Times, an embassy spokesman said the HSE had held a briefing with the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, Mr He Xiangdong, about the discovery that 20 per cent of the PPE was "'not meeting the requirements for general healthcare use".

The PPE “purchased from Chinese companies are strictly in compliance with the Chinese standards and widely used by Chinese health workers. However, they may not fully meet the using habit or procurement requirement of the Irish side,” the embassy spokesman said. “The Chinese suppliers are working with HSE in this regard to make sure those items will be replaced by ‘suitable’ ones.”

Mr Xiangdong also pointed out that “a small portion of those ‘unsuitable’ supplies are donated rather than procured. The donors may not be fully aware of the standard requirement or criteria of the PPE needed in Ireland.”

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He said "all PPE suppliers in China are under unprecedented huge demand from all over the world".

“With support from all stakeholders, HSE has done a very great job in securing such a large amount of PPE in such a short time. Compared with many others on the demand side, HSE’s achievement is very rare success.

“A procurement of such a scale will naturally have a few issues. As long as we hold a sincere attitude of co-operation those issues will surely be solved properly. China will continue to provide assistance to the Irish side in the procurement of PPE and medical equipment and to help Ireland fight against the pandemic.”