Ventilators bought from China could have caused 'significant harm including death', clinicians say
The UK purchased 250 "unreliable" ventilators from China that could have caused significant harm to patients, doctors said after the equipment had arrived.
Their warning came soon after Michael Gove announced that the Government had secured the ventilators earlier this month.
Nine days later, a five-page letter raising serious concerns about the equipment was sent to a senior NHS official by a senior anaesthesia and intensive care doctor at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust on behalf of a group of clinicians from the area.
The revelation comes after The Telegraph reported that the Government was seeking a refund for millions of coronavirus antibody tests shipped in from China after they were found to be too unreliable for public use.
"We believe that if used, significant patient harm, including death, is likely," the clinicians' letter said, according to the US network NBC News, which saw it. "We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients."
The doctors warned that the ventilators' oxygen supply was "variable and unreliable" and said the build quality was "basic". They added that the machines' fabric cases could not be cleaned properly and that they had a "non-EU" oxygen connection hose.
In addition to these problems, the Shangrila 510 machines, manufactured by Beijing Aeonmed Co. Ltd, were designed for use in ambulances rather than hospitals.
The Department of Health and Social Care, which oversees the purchase of NHS equipment from abroad, did not respond to a request for comment. However, it told NBC News that it was aware of the doctors' concerns and had raised them with the manufacturer. None of the ventilators are in use.
The Shangrila 510model is thought to cost up to £2,300, meaning a batch of 300 was likely to have cost the taxpayer almost £700,000.
Dr Ron Daniels, a senior ICU doctor in another NHS region covering Birmingham, said his trust had also been sent a small number of the same model.
While he did not see them himself, he is aware of the concerns raised and told The Telegraph: "It's possible that this was a hasty purchase that prioritised numbers and public perception over and above need.
"It came at a time of unprecedented demand for ICU capacity. If their build quality was sufficient and they had the after-sales care, that would be different. But I understand there was not even an oxygen sensor, which would be absolutely below the acceptable standard.
"The decision making may well have been well meaning, but was ill judged."
