The ventilator challenge, a government call to the UK manufacturing industry to help produce ventilators in response to Covid-19, has manufactured 2,000 units available to the NHS so far.
A spokesperson for the government said to the FT: “It’s right that at the start of the pandemic we launched the Ventilator Challenge to increase the supply for the NHS. Over 2,000 of these devices are now available to the NHS front line. We are continuing to build up our ventilator capacity to ensure that we have resilience of supply for the future.”
At the height of the coronavirus outbreak in March, prime minister Boris Johnson made the appeal to Britain's leading manufacturers to aid the NHS response to the pandemic by producing ventilators.
The National Audit Office, which monitors government spending, has revealed in a report that the government will spend £454 million on the programme.
Around £200 million of that budget has already been spent, notably for the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium.
Since 19th March 2020, the consortium has focused its efforts on scaling up production of two devices. One an existing design made by Smiths Group, the other a new device based on an adaptation of existing technology from Oxfordshire-based Penlon.
In total, the 33-strong consortium has seen over 5,500 people working around the clock across nine sites to deliver both models of ventilator into the NHS.
Together, Penlon and Smiths would ordinarily have combined capacity to produce between 50 and 60 ventilators per week. The consortium is producing between 100-200 of the combined units per day as it seeks to deliver increased ventilator capacity to the UK.
Dick Elsy, chairman of Ventilator Challenge UK and CEO of High Value Manufacturing Catapult, said: “We have covered an incredible amount of ground in the two months since the Consortium was formed. The progress we have made is testament to the effort and energy brought to the challenge by every member of the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium team. They have never wavered in their determination to make sure that our NHS always has the number of ventilators it needs to treat this virus.
“Although the UK is widely accepted to have passed the peak of infections in this first phase of the pandemic, we are continuing to scale up our production capabilities to make sure that there is always a ventilator available when a patient needs it should a second wave strike the UK. I look forward to seeing Ventilator Challenge UK deliver even more ventilators over the coming weeks.”
Ventilator Challenge UK www.ventilatorchallengeuk.com
