HSE owed more than €35m in ventilator refunds

The medical devices had become the most in-demand piece of equipment across the planet as concerns in relation to Covid-19 rocketed in March of last year. Photo: AP/John Minchillo

The HSE is owed more than €35 million in refunds for orders of ventilators from China, the vast majority of which were never received, according to an internal audit report.

The audit, which began in September 2020 and was finalised in June of this year, was commissioned to investigate the emergency procurement of ventilators from Asia at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, after regular, trusted supply lines had become congested.