News
May 15th, 2020
Diamedica responds to Covid-19 emergency
Since the global outbreak of Covid-19, Diamedica has been working around the clock to assist the UK Government and critical care providers in the battle against Covid-19.
Ventilators can play a vital role in the management of patients with a severe respiratory illness such as Covid-19. Diamedica knew it was imperative to scale up our ventilator production to meet the essential demand, both overseas and within our own National Health Service.
Diamedica was able to offer a solution to the ventilation requirements, developing our own action plan in anticipation of UK priorities and overseas requirements. The team ramped up manufacturing capacity through a three-pronged approach.
Diamedica joins UK Ventilator challenge
It was predicted that the UK alone would require in excess of 30,000 additional ventilators within the NHS to combat the Covid-19 outbreak.
As the CE certified Helix ventilator was already successfully being used by health care professionals worldwide, unsurprisingly Diamedica was soon approached by a medical device consultancy company working on behalf of the UK government.
Responding to the UK Government’s request and working alongside consulting and medical device manufacturing partners, Diamedica and the other organisations were able to provide the capacity to rapidly manufacture the Helix ventilator at scale.
Ventilators are highly complex medical devices and it was vital that we balanced both the pace of delivery, whilst also adhering to the key regulatory requirements that are vital to ensure patient safety.
The diverse teams worked non-stop to provide production capacity of the Helix ventilator under licence by Plexus Corporation in Scotland. Bringing together complementary skill sets across a variety of organisations, the team was ready for mass scale production within just 8 weeks, an extraordinary example of engineering skill and ingenuity.
As a second stream Diamedica worked with Team Consulting, a Cambridge based medical device consultancy company. Team contacted Diamedica for assistance in developing a new ventilator design, utilising Diamedica’s long experience of providing equipment for emergency situations. The design was created solely to be effective on a Covid-19 ward, allowing healthcare professionals to easily use the device in difficult conditions.
Team Consulting based their design on Diamedica’s Helix ventilator to allow the fastest possible delivery and to minimise supply chain risk. The ventilator was designed to be appropriate for mass manufacture and built from components which were readily available.
Typically, getting a medical device to market can take years. However, working collaboratively with the government, the MHRA, clinical advisors and manufacturers, the EVA – the Emergency Ventilator Apparatus – was designed within a staggering 6 weeks.
Outcome
During this unprecedented period, the world learned more about the effective treatment of patients with Covid-19. As knowledge about the virus and its treatment developed, the demand for ventilators changed.
The UK Government rightly prepared for the worst-case scenario for ventilated patients and fortunately the situation was not as bad as predicted. As a result, both projects have now been paused by the UK Government in response to the ever-changing knowledge about the virus and treatment protocols.
All parties involved have demonstrated outstanding engineering, design and determination in the national fight against Covid-19.
Diamedica is proud to have been an active participant in the UK’s national effort to help equip front line critical care staff with the devices needed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and save lives. Diamedica’s collaboration with Government and industry was exemplary – the immediate commitment of our company, its expertise, knowledge and resources to address an urgent national need.
Diamedica’s overseas efforts
Whilst working to assist the UK’s needs, the Diamedica team continued to work tirelessly supplying equipment to our overseas customers. As always, Diamedica is committed to continued service for our customers around the world, who depend on us for both equipment and support.
From equipment, to technical advice and training, we have supported customers including private hospitals, international organisations, medical wholesalers, rapid deployment hospitals and many more.
From Romania to Rwanda, Malawi to Mozambique, Somaliland to Sierra Leone, we have worked closely with our partners to bring Covid-19 specific training and equipment to more than 20 countries in just 8 weeks.
Healthcare providers, biomedical engineers, and health system administrators are at the centre of everything we do. With distributors around the world, we can support our customers in their rapid response to Covid-19. This is more critical now than ever.
Healthcare providers around the world have the evolving pandemic at the forefront of their concerns. Diamedica continues to support them around the clock in their efforts to combat this unprecedented global crisis. Clear communication and dedicated support are essential for everybody as we navigate through the challenges we now face.
Throughout this crisis and beyond, Diamedica will continue to supply our anaesthesia, ventilation, ICU and oxygen supply systems to our customers around the world.
For more information on COVID-19, including protective measures, please visit the WHO website.