An investigation by The Times has found that medical companies have charged the NHS inflated prices for ventilators. The government paid Excalibur Healthcare Services £135 million to supply 2,700 ventilators, at £50,000 each, £40,000 above the usual price. Three weeks earlier another company had provided the same model of VG70 ventilator for £8,800.
Excalibur, which is owned via a secretive offshore structure based in the Isle of Man, said that the fees were due to a surge in competition. As of last year the Isle of Man company was owned by a trust, of which “discretionary beneficiaries include Chris Evans and members of his close family”, company filings show.
Another company, Ninhao International, based in Hong Kong, was paid £4.8 million during the height of the pandemic to supply 100 SH300 ventilators for £48,000 each. The Times has found a supplier that sells the same model for $3,500 or £2,714 at present.
Full story in The Times, 19 October 2020
