Central purchasing by LCH helps healthcare providers with necessary medical supplies

Rob van der Kolk of the National Aids Consortium (LCH) indicated in a technical briefing in the House of Representatives the need to form the consortium. For example, he spoke of a 'fighting market' in which extortionate prices are charged for face masks, for example. By purchasing medical devices centrally through the LCH, the reliability of the products has been improved and stocks are growing.

The LCH was established on March 23 with the aim of ensuring that healthcare has sufficient high-quality personal protective equipment. Under the direction of the Ministry of Health and Sport, private and public parties work together without any profit motive as long as the corona crisis requires this.

During the presentation by Van der Kolk it became clear that at the start of the LCH there was an international fighting market, where sometimes loads were literally taken away. Extortionate prices are also charged for face masks, which can amount to 10 euros each, while there are also many concerns about the quality of the products. In addition, there is also scarcity within logistics chains, such as transport by air and storage in warehouses.

The first deliveries have been coming in since March 27. On April 4, more than 900,000 surgical face masks were imported and a new distribution model was drawn up by the LCH. The capacity of the air bridge, particularly to Asia, has now been increased. In the Netherlands, the companies Afpro filter technology, Auping and DSM are involved in the production of FFP2 face masks.

According to Van der Kolk, the LCH has now built up good ties with reliable suppliers for a number of products. Based on the status of April 28, almost 148 million FFP2/3 masks have been purchased, almost 75 million surgical masks and more than 168 million gloves. The consortium has now also opened an ordering site for protective equipment. Healthcare providers and hospitals can then order their supplies directly and no longer have to search for them themselves.