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Controversy surrounding an order for 10,000 respirators by the State

2020-04-23T19:46:35.537Z


At the end of March, an alliance of French manufacturers gathered around Air Liquide committed to producing 10,000 devices by mid-May. Objective: to face the risk of a shortage in resuscitation. The choice of respirator model is debated among doctors.


It was almost a month ago, March 30, at the height of an epidemic. France then feared a shortage of respirators, essential to help patients with Covid 19 hospitalized in intensive care. At the initiative of the government, a consortium of manufacturers gathered around the French leader, Air Liquide, announces the production of 10,000 devices delivered by mid-May. "In fifty days, we will produce what we usually do in three years ," said Figaro Benoît Potier, CEO of Air Liquide. It is a real industrial and human challenge but also a source of great pride. ”By his side, PSA, Schneider Electric and Valeo as well as a hundred subcontractors. Crisis requires, all agree to sell the respirators at cost price (3000 euros per unit), without making a profit.

Read also: Respirators: towards a sacred union of industrialists

This unprecedented sacred union is then greeted by the Head of State who publicly pays homage to the mobilization of these companies. It should make it possible to manufacture 1,500 “classic” respirators called T60 as well as 8,500 Osiris-type respirators.

It is the choice of "Osiris", used mainly in emergency transport, which is the subject of controversy today. In a report broadcast Thursday on France Inter, doctors denounce an "announcement effect" of the public authorities and warn that they will not use this device, unsuitable for resuscitation services. They regret that this order, placed by Santé Publique France, was not the subject of consultation with professionals.

"False!" Respond today the services of the Ministry of the Economy which have united, around the Secretary of State Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the efforts of French industrialists. "Not only did we consult them, but they gave us a positive opinion!" Said a spokesperson for the Secretary of State.

A proven model

In a letter that Le Figaro was able to consult, the office of the French Society of Anesthesia and Resuscitation (SFAR) "validated under the conditions stipulated and faced with the need to offer all patients the applicant artificial ventilation" the use of these fans. The same goes for the French-speaking intensive care society. The user note, approved by these two authorities, specifies that these machines should only be used "as a last resort".

"There has never been any question that they replace the conventional respirators used in '' sheaves '' when these are available , replies the spokesperson for Agnès Pannier-Runacher. This involved proposing a solution in the event of a long-lasting epidemic peak or a second wave. These respirators are intended to be used in cases of extreme emergency and as reinforcement .

The choice of "Osiris", easy to use and quick to produce, was therefore imposed due to the urgency of the situation. It takes around two months to make a resuscitation respirator. As for manufacturers, they were able to ensure the supply of components and raw materials in record time thanks to their strike force and their network of international suppliers.

"It is a proven model, used for 20 years by practitioners, long before the Covid," said the spokesperson for Air Liquide. She recalls that the Osiris model is also used by the English hospital system to treat patients with Covid, in ambulances as in Réa.

Read also: In intensive care: "We are overwhelmed, we have never seen that"

"We know these machines well, they were used as a last resort in the Grand Est a few weeks ago ," said Professor Mercat, head of the resuscitation service at the Angers University Hospital. Of course, this is a default choice in the event of a very large epidemic wave. But it is largely preferable to use them rather than depriving a patient of respiratory assistance ” .

Some resuscitators are more reserved. "It is an acceptable solution for thirty minutes or an hour maximum ," says Anne Geffroy-Wernet, president of SNPHARE, one of the main unions of anesthesiologists and resuscitators. These are patients who may not be able to bear such pressure. Resuscitation respirators make it possible to tailor-made by limiting lesions on healthy parts of the lung as much as possible ” .

“The downside of these devices is that individual monitoring is less easy, recognizes Professor Mercat. Care must be taken to adapt the settings according to the patient's condition so as not to aggravate the lesions ” . These doctors meet at least on one point. All hope that a second wave of coronavirus will not fall on France. Air Liquide's respirators could then be very useful to patients.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-04-23

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