Ventilators bought from China could have caused 'significant harm including death', clinicians say

Michael Gove announced the arrival of the ventilators from China at the start of this month - Shutterstock
Victoria Ward The Telegraph April 30, 2020, 4:56 PM GMT

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."... READ MORE