WALES' NHS has been hit by a "severe" shortage of body bags as a result of the coronavirus pandemic - and a Gwent company is coming to the rescue.

Plaspac UK, based in Llanhilleth, has been handed the £237,000 contract to provide body bags for NHS Wales.

The contract award notice on the Sell2Wales website says: “Due to the extreme urgency of the situation, and the pace at which coronavirus spread within Wales, it was necessary for NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership to make a Direct Award for the items covered by this Contract Award notice.”

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The justification was printed because the contract was awarded without prior publication for expressions of interests.

The justification says: “Covid-19 is a serious illness and its consequences are life-threatening.

“From the outset of the pandemic, NHS Wales experienced severe supply shortages as the virus affected global supply chains.

“This was particularly prevalent in the area of body bags, where stocks of products and raw materials in the UK and Europe were rapidly depleted.”

It is not known how many body bags Plaspac UK, which was the only bidder for the contract, was tasked with producing, nor how long the contract will last.

Plaspac declined to comment.