EDMONTON — Alberta is buying dozens of ventilator units to be used at hospitals and clinics around the province in case there’s a serious outbreak of swine flu.
The 106 new ventilators will be used in the most serious cases of H1N1 flu when patients develop respiratory problems that require assistance for breathing.
The units will be delivered starting in two weeks and will be added to around 400 ventilators already in place across Alberta.
A spokesman for Alberta’s health superboard says the province got a volume discount and the $2-million cost represents a 50 per cent savings from the normal cost.
There have been 127 serious cases of swine flu in Alberta over the past year, resulting in seven deaths.
Details of vaccination clinics will soon be announced allowing for mass immunization of Albertans against the sometimes-deadly disease.