Prognosis
Most U.K.-Made Ventilators Won’t Arrive Ahead of Virus Peak
- Government under pressure to solve shortage of breathing aids
- NHS has about 10,000 of the devices, may need 8,000 more
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When Britain’s government issued an urgent call to industry for thousands of hospital ventilators, more than 5,000 companies offered to help. Coronavirus infections are expected to peak next week and there’s little to show for their effort.
Significant deliveries from the firms are still weeks away, and the embattled National Health Service has resorted to foreign imports and loans from the armed forces and the private sector to double its ventilator count to around 10,000. While the national lockdown appears to be slowing the spread of Covid-19, the NHS may need as many as 8,000 more of the devices, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.