The UK has a 'massive shortage' of the ventilators it needs to treat critically ill coronavirus patients

• The UK has a 'massive shortage' of the devices, which are required to treat some patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to major ventilator manufacturer.
• 'They're going to have a massive shortage, once the virus really arrives there. They are not well equipped with ventilators and intensive care stations. They invested very little, and I think now they will pay the price,' Andreas Wieland, the chief of Hamilton Medical, told Reuters.
• The UK currently has around 5,000 ventilators but needs up to 20,000 more.
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The UK faces a "massive shortage" of the ventilators it will need to treat critically ill coronavirus patients, according to a Swiss manufacturer which makes them.

Andreas Wieland, the chief of Hamilton Medical, a large-scale ventilator maker, told Reuters that: "England is very poorly equipped."

"They're going to have a massive shortage, once the virus really arrives there."

"They are not well equipped with ventilators and intensive care stations. They invested very little, and I think now they will pay the price."

Weiland said he was in "close contact" with UK leaders and planned to prioritise shipments there soon, but was for now prioritising shipments of ventilators to Italy,. Hospitals there have been swamped by over 35,000 cases of the coronavirus and nearly 3,000 deaths.

Ventilators help patients to breath and can save the lives of patients suffering from the coronavirus, which attacks the lungs and can cause acute respiratory problems among those who are worst affected by the disease.

The machines deliver oxygen to the lungs through a tube and remove carbon dioxide when patients aren't able to breathe by themselves.

The UK is urgently trying to source as many as 20,000 new ventilators, which cost thousands of pounds, to cope with a massive surge in demand as the coronavirus spreads, the BBC reported.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called this week for UK manufacturers to repurpose their supply lines to start producing vital medical equipment including ventilators.

In a call with leading manufacturers, Downing Street said the prime minister "set the ambition for industry to manufacture as many new ventilators as possible."

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told Sky on Sunday that the government currently has around 5,000 of the devices but needed "many times more than that."

"We start with around 5,000 ventilators, we think we need many times more than that and we are saying if you produce a ventilator then we will buy it. No number is too high," he said.

A total of 2,626 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK and 104 people have died.

Thirty-two more people died after testing positive for coronavirus, the government said on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 104.

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Calling all manufacturers who can support our National Effort for #coronavirus ventilator production - to help, contact Government Business Support team: 0300 456 3565 / ventilator.support@beis.gov.uk

- Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) March 16, 2020