All of the devices in a consignment of 250 ventilators that arrived from China on 4 April posed such serious problems that they could not be used and were ditched. The machines were Shangrila 510 ventilators made by Beijing Aeonmed, a major manufacturer of ventilators in China. “We’ve been buying invasive ventilators from partners abroad, including Germany and Switzerland, and today 300 new ventilators arrived from China. Ventilators need to pass robust regulatory tests to ensure they are up to standard before they’re delivered to NHS hospitals. We currently have around 10,900 mechanical ventilators available to NHS patients across the UK, as well as 4,300 non-invasive ventilators.”• This article was amended on 1 May 2020 to include a comment from a government spokesperson.

Source: The Guardian April 30, 2020 17:32 UTC