UCL Ventura CPAP devices in use in five Palestinian hospitals

Image caption: the CPAP devices arriving in Palestine in September

Our UCL team has been working with the non-profit International Medical Education Trust (IMET2000), Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and other partners to bring UCL Ventura CPAP devices to Palestine where they are vitally needed to support the fight against COVID-19.

Fifteen CPAP devices arrived in September and have now been donated to five Palestinian hospitals, along with 400 breathing circuits. The UCL Ventura devices are now being used in Al-Askareh Hospital in Nablus, Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, Hugo Chavez Hospital in Ramallah, Allia Hospital in Hebron and Dora Hospital in Hebron. There are nine more devices and 200 further breathing circuits on their way. 

UCL have also supported training for the UCL-Ventura devices with online webinars and guidance documents. The charities have since trained over 750 doctors and nurses in use of the Ventura CPAPs. 

The devices were officially received by the Palestinian Minister of Health in the presence of the Palestinian medical team in Ramallah and the British Consul to Palestine, Philip Hall, on 17 September 2020. More details from the announcement ceremony can be read on IMET2000's website's blog here.  

Our collaborators 

This progress was only possible due to the efforts of numerous collaborators including the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Palestinian Society of Anaesthetists, the British Consul to Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians and IMET2000. Particular thanks go to Prof Colin Green and Prof Barry Fuller who have faciliated the links with UCL. 

The UCL Ventura project is a collaboration between UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, UCL Mechanical Engineering, University College London Hospital (UCLH) and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains. The breathing aid developed, known as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), helps COVID-19 patients with serious respiratory problems to breathe more easily, when oxygen via a face mask alone alone is insufficient. It is now in use in over 115 NHS hospitals in the UK.

Previous work with IMET2000

Earlier during the pandemic, UCL donated 6 CPAP devices to IMET2000 for trial in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Uganda and Bengal where the non-profit is actively working with COVID-19 patients.