Amazon and eBay have been selling blood oxygen testing devices that falsely claim to be “NHS-approved” and are not legally compliant.
Sales of pulse oximeters, which measure the oxygen level in a patient’s blood, soared during the pandemic.
They detect “silent hypoxia”, which can occur in severe Covid cases and means a patient’s blood oxygen has fallen to dangerously low levels — often without other warning signs.
GPs gave the devices to vulnerable patients with Covid to monitor their condition at home, but oximeters can also be bought online.
However, an investigation by Which? looked at devices sold on Amazon, eBay and Wish for as little as 99p and found that several were not legally fit to be sold in the UK.
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Of the 15 cheap pulse oximeters bought from such websites, 11 failed to comply with UK and EU law on the required markings for medical devices.
Some falsely claimed to be NHS-approved or “brazenly” featured the NHS logo, even though it does not approve or endorse any medical devices.
Pulse oximeters should carry the CE mark — which proves they meet requirements of all relevant European medical device directives — but Which? found that one product was missing its CE mark, while others had marks that failed to comply with guidance from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. This means they cannot legally be sold in the UK.
Experts say that a good quality oximeter should cost about £20, but eBay sold one — called the UK Fingertip Pulse Oximeter — for just 99p. It did not have a compliant CE mark.
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.”
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She called on the government to do more to protect consumers by enforcing tougher regulations online.
Amazon and eBay removed the devices without correct certification after being alerted by Which?, but campaigners want online marketplaces to be legally responsible for ensuring the safety of products offered on their sites.
Amazon said in a statement: “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.” eBay responded by saying: “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.”
