Medical equipments maker Philips has announced that it has received local emergency use authorisations1 to release its new ventilator in Kenya.
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.
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 airways 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 per cent of the total deaths and over 50 per cent 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.
