Intensive care expert explains how ventilators work, why they're crucial and whether the NHS has enough of them

You may have heard a lot about ventilators recently - that hospitals need a lot of them during this crisis, and how important they are in keeping the most vulnerable coronavirus patients alive.

Manufacturers are helping the UK government to make thousands of extra ventilators, the first of which are being sent out to hospitals this weekend.

ITV News' Coronavirus: What You Need To Know podcast answers how do ventilators work and just how crucial are they?

  • Charlotte Summers explains how ventilators work

Charlotte Summers, an intensive care specialist at the University of Cambridge, speaks to ITV News Health Correspondent Emily Morgan and ITV News Science Editor Tom Clarke about how ventilators are being used during the coronavirus outbreak, the rate of success the equipment has in keeping patients alive, and the new breathing aids that are quickly being developed.

Charlotte also tells the NHS has enough ventilators for patients right now - but that situation will change very quickly.

You can listen and subscribe to Coronavirus: What You Need To Know wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify - or listen using the player below.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know