Submitted on Thursday 19th March 2020
Rejected on Wednesday 15th April 2020
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: irrelevant (see below for details)
Build Both respirators (low-tech 'iron lungs') to meet ventilator demand
During a polio epidemic in the 1930s, Edward Both created a low-cost (under £100), quick-to-make (under 24 hours) ventilator for people with respiratory failure. The next year, the UK built 1,700 of the devices. Some are still in use today.
The UK should mass-manufacture these simple devices.
Unlike modern 'positive-pressure' ventilators, which push air into the lungs through a tube, Both respirators are a kind of iron lung. They are quicker to build and easier for untrained staff to operate than modern ventilators. Iron lungs are used in UK hospitals today.
A low-tech (even manually-operable) bellows induces low pressure around the patient, causing the patient to inhale, then high pressure, causing the patient to exhale.
See more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Both_respirator
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
Treatment decisions, including the use of medical devices, is a clincial decision and not one for the Government or Parliament.
You could start a petition calling for the Government to fund research into the use of Both respirators, if that's something you'd like to see happen.
18.118.121.54 Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:54:07 +0100
