Welsh Government faces questions over 700 'missing' ventilators

The Welsh Government is coming under renewed pressure from opposition politicians over the number of ventilators it has secured for the NHS in Wales.

The Conservatives are demanding clarity over the whereabouts of more than 700 ventilators promised for the Welsh NHS.

Plaid Cymru has also claimed Wales is being "short-changed" by a UK purchasing scheme with just over 31 ventilators coming as a result of that system.

The Conservative claim of a 'missing' 700 comes from a promise made by the Health Minister earlier this month when Vaughan Gething said that a further 1,000 extra ventilators were being purchased to add to the 415 ventilators already in hospitals here.

The health minister is facing questions from opposition parties Credit: PA

But in a written answer to the Conservative AM Suzy Davies, the minister said to date, 171 dual purpose and non-invasive ventilators have been sent to local health boards with 60 invasive ventilators being held by the Welsh NHS centrally.

Suzy Davies said she is calling for "clarity" on the apparently missing 700 ventilators.

Adam Price claims Wales is being 'short changed' by a UK purchasing scheme Credit: PA

Plaid Cymru's leader Adam Price has also asked how many ventilators had come to Wales from a UK Government purchasing scheme for all four nations.

The Health Minister replied that while Wales is due to receive 461 mechanical ventilators and 369 BiLevel ventilators from the scheme, "as of 22 April, data from NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership indicates Wales has received 31 mechanical ventilators and 83 BiLevel ventilators or machines suitable for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)."

Meanwhile from a donation of 60 ventilators from the German Army, Wales has so far received none.

You can read the full written response to Adam Price below. The Plaid Cymru leader says it means Wales is playing "second-fiddle."

During Tuesday's press conference, Mr Gething said "we’re going to get our share exactly as we should" and the "key point" was that Welsh hospitals have enough ventilators to meet demand.

Written Answer from Health Minister Vaughan Gething to Suzy Davies:

Welsh Government is working with the Wales Critical Care and Trauma Network and NHS Wales Shared Services to manage the allocation of additional respiratory support equipment secured from Welsh and UK Government sources. Our overriding priority has been to distribute equipment fairly and efficiently throughout Wales according to:

  • Clinical need, including anticipated peaks;

  • The need to utilise the equipment within 72 hours;

  • Suitability of equipment;

  • In consideration of O2 infrastructure in hospitals

Equipment is arriving in varying amounts and timeframes spread out over the next eight weeks.

NHS Wales Shared Services are normally able deliver anywhere in Wales within 24 hours. We continue to review the demand and distribution and retain the ability to reallocate the equipment in line with clinical need to guard against significant shortfalls in individual sites or health boards.

All health boards have been given some of the equipment received so far – the majority of equipment has been sent to health boards experiencing higher numbers of COVID-19 patients currently or those facing a significant shortfall of a particular type of ventilator. A breakdown of the equipment distributed so far by health board is below:

In addition to the ventilators allocated above, there are also an additional 60 invasive ventilators being held by NHS Wales Shared Services for allocation if necessary, these are models not traditionally used in critical care settings, such as portable machines, but are available to be used should any health board require access to them.

We do not hold information on when the orders were placed as they are coming from a variety of sources, including orders placed directly by health boards, orders placed by NHS Wales Shared Services and through UK arrangements.

We are unable to confirm the timings or allocation of the ventilators we are expecting to receive – these will be allocated on the basis of need.

Yours sincerely,

Vaughan Gething AC/AMY Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau CymdeithasolMinister for Health and Social Services

Written answers from Vaughan Gething to Adam Price

Q: What is the proportion of ventilators held in the UK Government reserve which were (a) promised and (b) delivered to Wales?

A: The UK Government has committed to deliver 461 mechanical ventilators and 369 BiLevel ventilators to Wales.

As of 22 April, data from NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership indicates Wales has received 31 mechanical ventilators and 83 BiLevel ventilators or machines suitable for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Q: How many ventilators has Wales received from those donated by the German Government?

A: Welsh Government is working with the Wales Critical Care and Trauma Network and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership to manage the allocation of additional respiratory support equipment secured from Welsh and UK Government sources.

As of 22 April, data from Shared Services indicates Wales has not received any of the ventilators donated by the German Government to the UK Government. Equipment is arriving in varying amounts and timeframes spread out over the next 8 weeks.