This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/airbus-dyson-firms-waiting-uk-green-light-produce-ventilators-coronavirus

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Firms to get UK government go-ahead to produce ventilators Dyson and Airbus expect green light to start making ventilators
(about 8 hours later)
Airbus and Dyson among the companies ready to join fight against coronavirus The companies will start making up to 30,000 ventilators from next week to help the NHS fight Covid-19
Manufacturers including Airbus and Dyson are expecting the government to give the green light to start producing medical ventilators, with production due to begin next week, after separately finalising plans to make the thousands needed to help the NHS fight Covid-19. Dyson, along with a separate consortium of manufacturers led by Airbus, is expecting the government to give it the green light to start making up to 30,000 medical ventilators from next week, after finalising plans to supply thousands of devices to help the NHS fight Covid-19.
The proposals vary, with Dyson offering to design and build a new ventilator from scratch and a consortium called Ventilator Challenge UK, led by Airbus, planning to scale up production of existing models. The latter option is expected to become the focus of backing from Westminster. The proposals differ, with the Airbus-led Ventilator Challenge UK consortium planning to scale up production of existing models and also expected to win backing from Westminster.
The government, which wants to increase the number of ventilators in the NHS from 8,175 to 30,000, has been considering which option to choose or whether to press ahead with both. Dyson said it had received orders for 10,000 ventilators it aims to build from scratch, and released pictures and specifications of its CoVent prototype on Wednesday night.
A decision is expected on Wednesday, ahead of a massive production effort, reminiscent of UK industry’s role in producing Spitfire planes during the second world war, likely to begin on Wednesday. In a letter to staff the company’s billionaire founder, Sir James Dyson, said the “race is now on to get it into production”. He promised to donate 5,000 machines to the international effort to treat Covid-19 patients, with 1,000 of the devices pledged to the UK.
“It will be upscaling, on more of an industrial scale, existing ventilator designs,” a source told Reuters. The government, which wants to increase the number of ventilators in the NHS from 8,175 to 30,000, has been considering which option to choose – but now looks likely to press ahead with both.
In the meantime, the government has placed multimillion-pound orders with specialist suppliers that can provide a small number of ventilators to start addressing the shortfall. These include Crawley-based Inspiration Healthcare, which said in a statement to investors it had taken more than £5m in orders from the NHS. A decision is expected on Wednesday ahead of a massive production effort, reminiscent of UK industry’s role in producing Spitfire planes during the second world war.
Ventilator Challenge UK’s plan is thought to have made the most progress, working to designs already made by Smiths Medical, from Luton, and the Oxfordshire-based Penlon. In the meantime, the government has placed multimillion-pound orders with specialist suppliers that can provide a small number of ventilators to start addressing the shortfall swiftly. These include Crawley-based Inspiration Healthcare, which said in a statement to investors it had taken more than £5m in orders from the NHS.
While the two firms are unable to produce the required number of ventilators on their own, they can draw on the facilities of other members of the consortium, including the engineers GKN and Meggitt and the automotive company McLaren. The Ventilator Challenge UK consortium’s plan will work to designs already made by Smiths Medical, from Luton, and Penlon, based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
The government is thought to be keen to press ahead with this plan but could also approve an alternative proposal from Dyson. The vacuum cleaner company is working on a prototype ventilator with the Technology Partnership, a Cambridge-based group of science and innovation companies with expertise in medical equipment. While these two firms are unable to produce the required number of ventilators on their own, they can draw on the facilities of other members of the consortium, including the engineering firms GKN and Meggitt, and the automotive company McLaren.
Work is going on at Dyson’s Hullavington laboratory in Wiltshire, where it was designing an electric car until the plan was abandoned last year. Dyson believes it can deploy its patents and knowledge in areas where there is some crossover between its products and ventilators. These include digital motors, battery packs, expertise in airflow, and HEPA filters, which block fine particles but not air. Dyson has been working on a completely new model of ventilator with The Technology Partnership, a Cambridge-based group of science and innovation companies with expertise in medical equipment.
Sources familiar with the two schemes said they were in a position to start work but have been waiting on the government to give its blessing to one or both of the projects. Work is going on at Dyson’s Hullavington laboratory in Wiltshire, where it was designing an electric car until the plan was abandoned last year. Dyson believes it can meet the government’s requirements by deploying knowledge in areas where there is some crossover between its products and ventilators. These include digital motors, battery packs, expertise in airflow, and HEPA filters, which block fine particles but not air.
The wide-ranging collaboration between the government and the UK’s industrial powerhouses is being coordinated by three government departments, alongside the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a research organisation. Sources familiar with the two schemes said they were in a position to start work but have been waiting on the government to give its blessing to one or both of the projects. The government is expected to provide further details on Thursday.
The Cabinet Office is managing procurement of the machines under the oversight of the chief commercial officer, Gareth Rhys Williams, while the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial strategy is fielding offers of help from UK companies. The wide-ranging collaboration between the government and the UK’s industrial powerhouses is being coordinated by three government departments, alongside the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a research and development organisation.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHCS) is responsible for vetting the types of ventilator that could be built and has drawn up a list of specifications that were sent out to companies hoping to build one from scratch. The Cabinet Office is managing procurement of the machines under the oversight of the chief commercial officer, Gareth Rhys Williams, while the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is fielding offers of help from UK companies.
The government is also exploring other sources of ventilators to plug the gap until larger production volumes come on stream. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHCS) is responsible for vetting the types of ventilator that could be built, and has drawn up a list of specifications that were sent out to companies hoping to build one from scratch.
The government is also exploring other sources of ventilators to plug the gap until larger production volumes come on-stream.
Inspiration Healthcare’s chief executive, Neil Campbell, said: “I’m delighted that Inspiration Healthcare has been able to benefit from our commercial relationships with critical care equipment manufacturers and source such large quantities of this very specialist equipment, working closely with the DHSC to find solutions during this difficult time.Inspiration Healthcare’s chief executive, Neil Campbell, said: “I’m delighted that Inspiration Healthcare has been able to benefit from our commercial relationships with critical care equipment manufacturers and source such large quantities of this very specialist equipment, working closely with the DHSC to find solutions during this difficult time.
“Inspiration Healthcare’s senior directors as well as our teams working all over the UK have played a key role in securing these supplies, which in total are considerably larger than we have ever received in the past.”“Inspiration Healthcare’s senior directors as well as our teams working all over the UK have played a key role in securing these supplies, which in total are considerably larger than we have ever received in the past.”