Ventilators expected to be in wards next week
The first batch of about 100 ventilators made in Saskatchewan are expected to be ready for delivery next week.
The province announced a collaboration Thursday between the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and RMD Engineering Inc., a Saskatoon-based company.
RMD'S subsidiary, One Health Medical Technologies, expects to have the first 20 ventilators ready for delivery by Monday, a news release from the province says.
The Saskatchewan-made ventilators will increase the number in the province's health-care system to 750. These ventilators range from critical care models to more basic ones.
RMD president Jim Boire said in the news release that awareness of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health-care system was raised by his daughter, a nurse at Royal University Hospital.
RMD used in-house expertise to build an emergency-use ventilator, which led to a collaboration with the SHA, the College of Medicine and the College of Engineering at the U of S.
RMD recently got COVID-19 medical device authorization from Health Canada to start manufacturing the EUV- SK1 ventilators.
The authorization means the company can start selling the devices to the health-care market in Canada. The SHA got approval from the Saskatchewan government to purchase 100.
Health Minister Paul Merriman was quoted in the news release as saying the project “exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and entrepreneurship” in the province.
The SHA is still negotiating the price of the ventilators, SHA spokeswoman Amanda Purcell said.
About 80 of the ventilators in the province are currently being used, but most of the people on ventilators are not COVID-19 patients, Purcell added.
“Right now, our ventilator supply is considered stable,” she said in an emailed message.
People with severe cases of COVID-19 can require ventilators to assist with breathing.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital in Saskatchewan reached a new high of 132 on Wednesday; 26 were receiving intensive care.