Edinburgh Napier sends training ventilator 'Wall-e' to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary

Edinburgh Napier University has sent a ventilator normally used to train health workers to the intensive care unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The ventilator, christened ‘Wall-e’ by fond students and staff, will help in the fight against Covid-19. Michelle O’Reilly of the university’s Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre at Sighthill made a list of equipment which could be useful to cope with the pandemic, and was contacted by an ERI charge nurse to ask for the ventilator.

Ms O’Reilly said: “The ventilator - christened Wall-e by the team at Sighthill – is normally used for training purposes for advanced practice and critical care simulations, and was previously used to train a lot of the newly-qualified intensive care nurses in the SCSC.

“After checks to ensure Wall-e is in good working order, it will be crucial in the fight against COVID-19. The SCSC are more than happy to help out their former colleagues at such a time.”

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that 12,000 ventilators were available around the country, up from 5,000 previously.

However the government has said that 20,000 could be needed to cope with the extent of the coronavirus pandemic.