LONDON (Reuters) – A British consortium consisting of a group of aerospace, automotive and engineering companies to build fans for the country’s health service said on Sunday it would end after delivering more than 13,000 devices.
VentilatorChallengeUK said its production had more than doubled the stock of fans available for use at the National Health Service.
The consortium, which was formed nonprofit by people like Ford, McLaren, Rolls-Royce and Airbus, said in May that production was increasing in the event of a second spike in infections.
But Dick Elsy, president of VentilatorChallengeUK, said the NHS was now in a good position for the future.
“We have helped to ensure that the NHS has always had access to the number of fans it needs, and we are pleased to have also contributed to building a robust stock in case fans are required in the UK in the future,” he said.
Britain tried to “protect the NHS” during its coronavirus blockade by working to flatten the infection curve so that the health service was not overwhelmed.
The availability of fans on the NHS had been a hot political issue when the epidemic began, but demand for the machines never came close to the 30,000 figures initially deemed necessary.
The government has said that everyone who needed a fan during the pandemic had access to one.
“The Ventilator Challenge has been a great success,” said Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove.
“I would like to thank all manufacturers and designers, and their incredible workforces, for the great part they have played in the national effort to protect our NHS and save lives.”
Alistair Smout Report; Editing by Jan Harvey
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