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At a press conference on March 31, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) announced that the government had ordered 1,000 copies of a newly developed emergency respirator, which would increase the capacity of Norwegian hospitals.
– This are very good news. We know that Norway may reach a peak in the number of sick patients with covid-19 in the coming months. These emergency respirators make it easier for the health service to handle that peak, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said.
That same night, the Prime Minister’s joy was ridiculed.
“It’s a trick from early April,” asked Lill Sverresdatter Larsen, head of the Nursing Association, according to Aftenposten.
And in the days that followed, the debate over the government’s huge request, which guaranteed project funding, raged. Then he was silent.
So what is the current status?
– An agreement was reached with Laerdal Medical on May 10, Gunn Kristin Sande, Director of Southeast Health Communications, said in an email to ABC News.
The regional health company Health South-East is responsible for coordinating the national acquisition of contamination equipment and medicines for hospitals and municipalities.
Not yet in the series production phase.
The signed agreement refers to the purchase of 1000 emergency respirators called Laerdal Servi Ventilator. These should “be used as emergency ventilators to provide controlled ventilation for sedated patients (sedated with medications, ed.) Patients with respiratory failure during the covid-19 pandemic,” the contract states.
Under the contract signed with Health South-East, development is carried out in three phases, where phase one is completed which involves the design and development of the prototype.
Under the contract, the process will now be in phase 2, part A, which involves the production of 20 copies of the emergency respirator. This concludes this week with the implementation of the so-called Design Exit Review, which is intended to confirm the intended use.
Subsequently, the technical documentation will be prepared and the emergency respirator will be tested and through a process for CE certification.
Phase 3, serial production, begins when the emergency respirator is CE marked and ends no later than 6 weeks later, according to the contract.
On March 31, the government announced that the emergency respirator could help double the number of breathing machines in Norwegian hospitals by May. The manufacturers themselves have announced that they will deliver the emergency respirators before June 1, that is, in just over two weeks.
Watch the video of Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s presentation of the “rewarding story” about the new respirators:
Skepticism in professional settings.
When the purchase was announced, several academic communities expressed skepticism that these emergency respirators could be used in Norwegian intensive care units. The Norwegian Nursing Association called the government order “lack of knowledge disguised as a force for action,” and the Norwegian Medical Association said that emergency respirators are not suitable for intensive treatment of crown patients.
Chief Physician Kristian Strand of the Intensive Care Unit at Stavanger University Hospital said he hopes there will be no need to use emergency respirators in Norway.
– The case is probably somewhat oversold. Emergency respirators are only suitable for use in absolute emergencies. It will be an alternative to seat an ignorant person and ventilate by hand with the same bag. It provides basic control over pressure and volume in the lungs, but is not an alternative to a modern respirator, Strand said. to ABC News.
Some were more positive about emergency respirators, especially regarding use in developing countries. Paul Fife, director of Norad’s Department of Health, Education and Human Rights, stated in accordance with the Assistance Act that emergency respirators can be useful in developing countries.
Chief physician Mads Gilbert of the University Hospital of Northern Norway believed that less developed countries could benefit from the ventilator.
– Of course, the emergency ventilator is not a substitute for the super advanced appliances in Norwegian hospitals. But such a simple breathing machine will be an important emergency solution during the pandemic, Gilbert told the News Agency.
I’m not sure where to use the emergency respirators
When the government announced the purchase, Health Minister Bent Høie explained that they had ordered more respirators than necessary in Norway.
“We know that there is also a great need in other countries, and therefore let’s look at the possibility of export,” said Høie.
And Development Minister Dag-Inge Ulstein (KrF) made a similar message on Twitter.
“We now order 1000 emergency ventilators from Lærdal Medical. We probably don’t need everyone here, so we can contribute even more internationally by sending them, ”he wrote.
But the place where respirators end when they are finished is uncertain as of today. Health South-East cannot answer whether they should remain in Norway and be used here, or whether they should be shipped abroad.
– The emergency fans will be developed through several phases. The location where they will be put into operation will only be determined after testing has been completed and CE certification has been obtained, Gunn Kristin Sande, Director of Health Southeast, told ABC News.
ABC News has attempted to obtain comments from Laerdal Medical AS without success.
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