It has been revealed by doctors in UK that the 250 ventilators purchased from China are the wrong type and could kill coronavirus patients.
NBC News reports that the warning was given a newly uncovered letter in which the medical staff said the devices had a problematic oxygen supply, could not be cleaned properly, had an unfamiliar design a confusing instruction manual, and were made for use in ambulances, not hospitals.
The document also claims that the ventilators cannot be properly cleaned.
Cabinet ministers had on April 4, 2020 announced triumphantly that they had bought 300 ventilators from China.
Michael Gove, a senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s government, had in a briefing that day expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for their support in securing the ventilators.
But nine days later, a group of senior doctors and medical managers had issued a grave warning about 250 ventilators they had received from one of China’s major ventilator manufacturers.
A statement made in the letter reads:
We believe that of used, significant patient harm, including death, is likely. We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients.”
Speaking further, the doctors said the devices had been designed for use inside an ambulance rather than beside a hospital bed.
According to the letter, the ventilators’ oxygen supply was “variable and unreliable”, and that it fabric case could not be cleaned properly (an essential requirement in the fight to curb a highly contagious virus).
