Galway’s med-tech giants at coalface in Covid-19 fight

Medtronic’s plant in Mervue has found itself at the cutting edge of the global battle to treat acutely-ill coronavirus patients as they step-up their production of potentially life-saving ventilators.

The global medtech giant, which employs over 2,500 people at its Galway City outlets in Parkmore and Mervue, manufactures two models of Puritan Bennett high-performance ventilators.

Without ventilation support, some patients with severe respiratory problems, might not survive.

Separately, Medtronic last weekend confirmed one case of Covid-19 at its plant in Parkmore, with the area where that employee worked, closed for ‘thorough cleaning and sanitisation’. The employee had last been in the building on March 10.

In a message to employees, Medtronic Vice-President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Tony Neary, gave an assurance that all Government and internal company regulations were being met in relation to that case.

He said that all employees who had been in close contact with the positive case had been contacted within 24 hours with additional precautionary measures being put in place for them.

The Mervue plant, currently understood to employ in the region of 250 people – that produces the ventilators – was unaffected by this Covid-19 case and is now seeking additional staff to meet the national and worldwide demand for the products.

It is understood that staff are also being transferred from Parkmore to Mervue to ramp up production of the ventilators.

When Covid-19 patients are put on a ventilator, the patient’s lungs are permitted to rest and recover while the medical device performs the function of supplying oxygen and simulating the actions of breathing, according to Medtronic.

Last week, the company announced that they had stepped up production of the ventilators by 40%. They also said that they ‘were on track’ to more than double their capacity to manufacture and supply ventilators in response to the ‘urgent needs of patients and healthcare systems across the globe confronting Covid-19.

The HSE also confirmed that they had ordered 900 new ventilators to add to the 500 that were already available to HSE hospitals across the country.

See full story – and 18 pages on Galway’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic – in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops today. You can also buy a digital edition online from www.connachttribune.ie or have a paper included with your supermarket delivery.