Blood oxygen devices that do not meet UK legal standards have been sold on the web, an investigation has found. Amazon and eBay are among the big online retailers who sold the ‘unfit’ machines.
The devices, called pulse oximeters, measure blood oxygen levels and are known to detect silent hypoxia. This is where oxygen levels plummet to dangerously low levels.
As this was a condition associated with Covid-19, sales of blood oxygen devices spiked during the pandemic. As reported in The Times, an investigation carried out by Which? studied oximeters retailing from as little as 99p available from eBay, Amazon and Wish.
The Which? team discovered 11 out of 15 pulse oximeters fell short of complying with UK and EU law and failed to be stamped with regulatory markings required for medical devices. This means they were not legally fit to be sold in the UK.
Pulse oximeters should bear the CE stamp which shows that a manufacturer has carried out due diligence and that the products meet safety, health and environmental standards. However, Which? discovered that CE marks were missing.
Some devices not only featured the familiar NHS logo, despite having no affiliation to the health service, they also erroneously claimed to be approved by the NHS. The standard cost for a functioning and legally compliant oximeter is approximately £20.
However eBay sold a device called UK Fingertip Pulse Oximeter for 99p. This device did not feature the CE mark either.
Natalie Hitchins from Which? said: “It is very concerning that our investigation found these medical devices for sale without the required safety markings or brazenly claiming to be approved by the NHS — and the biggest online marketplaces were not picking up on these red flags.” In a bid to see consumers being protected, Ms Hitchens is prompting the government to put in place more stringent requirements.
Although eBay and Amazon have pulled the non-compliant devices that lacked the legally required certification, campaigners are pushing for online retailers to be held responsible for stock safety. eBay said: “We have strict policies in place to regulate the sale of medical devices and have removed the single listing flagged by Which? that did not comply with these policies.”
A statement from Amazon said: “We have proactive measures in place to prevent suspicious or non-compliant products from being listed and we monitor the products sold in our stores for product safety concerns.”
