Engineers seconded to UK ventilator consortium to aid NHS shortfall

Hundreds of engineers from a string of top British manufacturers will be seconded to a new consortium aiming to stave off an NHS shortfall in life-saving ventilators.

Ventilator Challenge UK, launched on Monday, has promised to ramp up production of existing designs by FTSE 100 giant Smiths Group and another ventilator made by Oxford-based Penlon today.

It has committed to make 10,000 ventilators, with production of Smiths’ existing mini-ventilator paraPAC used by many paramedics stepping up at its Luton plant over the past three weeks.

GKN Aerospace, another part of the consortium, also has a manufacturing site in Luton which may be used to make the Smiths’ ventilator.

The Government has faced scrutiny over its ventilator procurement after reports said it had shunned an EU-wide initiative to obtain more.

The Government also reportedly turned down an offer to help to buy them from overseas, instead choosing to make them from scratch domestically.

Ventilator Challenge UK will see several hundred employees moved over to work on the project, headed by renowned engineer Dick Elsy who delayed his retirement to lead the team.

Elsy heads a body of UK R&D academic sites known as the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. In total 28 companies have committed resources to the consortium, with a handful doing manufacturing and others helping with 3D modelling, data management and supply chains.

This includes seven F1 teams have also been recruited to offer their know-how on high-speed engineering gleaned from making rapid changes during F1 races.

Elsy said: “They are working together with incredible determination and energy to scale up production of much-needed ventilators.”