There have been delays since the manufacturer was unable to replace or repair all of the machines due to the scope of the recall. Upon enquiry by our colleagues from RTL.lu, Philips stated that 90% of machines will be replaced or fixed by the end of the year.
RTL.lu investigations revealed, however, that some people in Luxembourg were only made aware of potential defects in their respirator after 1.5 years. Philips responded by stating that the issue was reported to authorities in June 2021. However, because the respirators were delivered to Luxembourg by several distributors, the company does not have a clear picture of the scope of the recall.
In response to MP Gusty Graas’ parliamentary question, Minister of Health Paulette Lenert confirmed that recalls are handled by the National Health Directorate, specifically the Pharmaceutical Division. In an interview with our colleagues from RTL.lu, Dr Anna Chioti, head of the Pharmaceutical Division, specified that the recall has affected 1,024 persons at the Centre Hospitalier du Nord (CHdN) alone. At the beginning of last week, 760 people were still waiting for their respirators to be replaced. It is still unknown how many machines distributed by Hôpitaux Robert Schuman are affected. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to trace faulty machines, but progress has been slow, which is why French authorities, for example, have already begun to put pressure on Philips. According to Dr Chioti, this is also because some patients in Luxembourg were only notified rather late. It took a long time for the company that distributed the machines throughout the Grand Duchy to respond. In addition, Luxembourg is not well prepared to deal with such situations: Two workers are in charge of handling of over 1,000 reports per year. This prevents the Luxembourgish authorities from taking a proactive approach. However, the Ministry is recruiting new workers to improve the situation.
Dr Chioti stressed that there have been no reports of problems caused by the affected Philips respirators thus far. For this reason, the authorities decided to monitor the recall without sounding the alarm. The manufacturer advises patients to continue using their respirators until they have consulted with their doctor. Official guidelines will be published as soon as possible on the National Health Directorate’s website.
According to Lenert’s reply to the parliamentary question by Graas, the Ministry is currently working on a register of medical supplies and the companies that distribute them. The Ministry may also set up a website with a database, where residents could find all of the alerts in relation to medical equipment.
Lenert also indicated that she plans to propose to the Government Council before the end of the year a preliminary draft bill with amendments to the draft bill on the creation of a national medicines agency. The draft bill has been in the Parliamentary Health Committee since February 2020.
