PM call with UK’s leading manufacturers: 16 March 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with the UK’s leading manufacturing businesses and organisations.
This evening, the Prime Minister spoke to over sixty of the UK’s leading manufacturing businesses and organisations to call on them to help the UK step up production of vital medical equipment, such as ventilators. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also joined the call.
The Prime Minister made clear that responding to coronavirus and reducing the spread of the peak requires a national effort. He asked manufacturers to rise to this immediate challenge by offering skills and expertise as well as manufacturing the components themselves. Businesses can get involved in any part of the process: design, procurement, assembly, testing, and shipping.
He set the ambition for industry to manufacture as many new ventilators as possible, so we can all help the most vulnerable and our NHS, whose staff have been working round the clock. The government Chief Commercial Officer and Commercial Director from the NHS set out the clinical and design specifications. The government will remain in contact with businesses on anything further that the NHS might need to respond to the virus.
The Prime Minister thanked manufacturers for everything they have done so far. A number of companies are already engaged in the effort and exploring how they can best support. Any business who is able to help should get in touch, by phoning the BEIS Business Support Helpline on 0800 998 1098 or visiting https://ventilator.herokuapp.com.
The Business Support Helpline has already received over 400 calls from businesses looking for information on how they can contribute to the Prime Minister’s call for ventilator production.
The Prime Minister also set out that the government will do everything we can to support businesses during this difficult time.