Kick-off for maintenance trainings for non-invasive ventilator in Durban

In the middle of April 2021, bbw is visiting four different cities in South Africa accompanied by a trainer commissioned by the initiative SAVE-P. A total of approximately thirty-five service technicians from 12 different hospitals will be trained in the maintenance and servicing of non-invasive ventilators. Starting point of the training was the city of Durban, followed by medical facilities in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Mthatha.

In South Africa, the South African Emergency Ventilator Project (SAVE-P) was established in the face of increasing demand for ventilators and the strain on global supply chains. SAVE-P developed a CPAP-100 non-invasive ventilator that can be manufactured using existing local technology to treat Covid-19 patients.

In July 2020, a solidarity fund contracted for the first 2,000 units, which were donated to the National Ministry of Health and distributed to various hospitals as needed. To ensure patient safety, the CPAP-100 units must be tested every three months. However, many government hospitals lack the expertise to do so. To ensure patient care in South Africa and to support the SAVE-P initiative, bbw has integrated four training courses on the maintenance of CPAP-100 equipment into its small scale project "Maintenance of Medical Equipment".

As part of the small scale project, bbw is working with the Tshwane University of Technology to develop a training course on “Maintenance of Medical Equipment”, which will then be offered on a permanent basis in South Africa.