Multinational electronics manufacturer Philips on Tuesday announced that it has received local emergency use authorizations to release its new Philips Respironics E30 ventilator in Kenya and assist in filling the critical hospital ventilation shortage.
The Philips Respironics E30 Ventilator has been verified and approved by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board which is the body mandated to verify and approve medical devices in Kenya.
As of June 2020, the Ministry of Health indicated that Kenya had only 189 ventilators countrywide to treat
critical care COVID 19 patients.
“It is in response to this, and similar needs globally, that Philips quickly scaled production of its new Philips Respironics E30 ventilator as a readily available ventilation alternative during the COVID-19 crisis in situations where full-featured, critical care ventilators are not available,” the company said in a statement.
Designed for mass production by a team deeply experienced in respiratory care, Philips has upscaled production of the device since mid-April 2020, producing 15,000 units per week to free-up intensive care
and critical care beds, while allowing healthcare workers with a wide range of skill sets to treat and
monitor patients in clinical and field-hospital settings.
Studies continue to show that there is a strong association between people who are critically ill or dying and those with certain chronic conditions.
The three most commonly associated chronic conditions are hypertension, diabetes and obesity, as well as lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive airway diseases.
This supports the crucial need for local healthcare to scale up access to COVID-19 related interventions, as non-communicable diseases (NCD’S) such as cancers, diabetes, and others account for 27 percent of the total deaths and over 50 percent of total hospital admissions in Kenya – putting the Kenyan population at unprecedented risk.
“As COVID-19 continues to spread in Kenya, healthcare providers are working diligently to treat soaring
numbers of patients at a time when there are too few ventilators to provide care” said Prof. Wangari Siika, Associate Professor in Anaesthesia and Intensive care.
“The E30 ventilator is fit for purpose, specifically made for COVID-19 management. It is not a full-featured, critical care ICU ventilator, but has been developed keeping the needs of healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients in mind while also complying with medical device quality standards” stated Dr.
Muthoni Ntonjira, Country Manager, Philips Kenya.
“Our hope is that this ventilator will help to free-up ICU ventilators for use in treating the most severe patients and support the efforts being made by our Government and our clinical workforce,” she added.
