Personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiles in England were inadequate for the Covid pandemic and price rises earlier this year cost taxpayers about £10bn, the spending watchdog has said.
The government said the NAO's report recognised that NHS providers had been able to get what they needed in time.
Almost £12.5billion was spent on 32bilion items of PPE between February and July 2020.
During the same period in 2019, 1.3billion items were bought at a cost of £28.9millionEach item had been "substantially" more expensive in 2020, because of very high global demand, the NAO said, from almost triple the cost for respirator masks to more than 14 times as much for body bags.
Had the government been able to pay 2019 prices, it would have spent £2.5bn on PPE in 2020.
In reality, it had spent £12.5bn, including hundreds of millions on "unsuitable" items that could not be used.
Some had "passed its expiry date or did not meet current safety standards", the watchdog said, with "insufficient checks" meaning Public Health England had had to recall eye protectors that did not meet standards.
NAO head Gareth Davies said: "As PPE stockpiles were inadequate for the pandemic, government needed to take urgent action to boost supplies.
"Once it recognised the gravity of the situation... the price of PPE increased dramatically, and that alone has cost the taxpayer around £10bn."
cont
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55061183