Supt Hannah Wheeler

Articles by: Supt Hannah Wheeler

Policing during the Pandemic: PPE and the future challenges that may be faced by the service

6th October 2021

Supt Hannah Wheeler, National PPE Lead, Operation Talla

FEATURE: Ahead of this week’s London Policing College UK Preparedness workshop – the first in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Supt Hannah Wheeler, the National PPE Lead for Operation Talla, explains how her team secured and distributed more than 80 million items of PPE, the steps taken to protect police and public, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on policing.

Contact

Supt Hannah Wheeler
National PPE Lead

Profile
Hannah joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1993 and has broad experience of working in diverse environments in both CID and uniform roles in London and leading teams through change. Hannah has a strong partnership and neighbourhood policing background, working with the Home Office to pilot and embed new ASB policy and early identification of vulnerability and repeat victimisation. In 2017 Hannah was seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies & Fire and Rescue Services and led the first mental health inspection of all forces. Her report, Policing and mental health – Picking up the pieces, was endorsed by the policing minister and led to significant national progress against key recommendations. In March 2020 Hannah volunteered to assist in the national pandemic response – Operation Talla – and was appointed national PPE lead. Existing PPE stocks and supply chains were failing against a global demand for PPE which would directly impact on staff safety and sickness if not addressed. Hannah set up a temporary national PPE distribution hub with military expertise and led a small team to source, procure and distribute PPE to all forces and overseas territories. The team has shipped over 80 million items of PPE. Guidance to accompany the use of the PPE was developed and a national PPE performance dashboard was created to track orders, usage and consumption of each item. Hannah was awarded a QPM in the 2021 Queen’s New Year’s honours for her inspirational leadership in delivering this unprecedented project.