Potential Hospital Chaos Due to Shortage Leading to a Grinding Halt
Australia is being urged to enhance onshore medical manufacturing as hospitals and veterinary clinics face an unprecedented shortage of intravenous fluids.
Hospital surgeries could be canceled as early as next week, as warned by the Australian Medical Association, while veterinarians have been instructed to conserve supplies.
Intravenous fluids, which contain saline and other additives, are essential in medical care for both humans and animals.
A global shortage caused by manufacturing issues and unexpected demand spikes is expected to persist through 2024, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Despite efforts to find temporary solutions, Australia’s dependence on overseas medical suppliers poses a challenge, noted Jennifer Martin, President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
“The current situation is safe (but) it’s not ideal, it is causing a lot of extra work,” she told AAP.
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Australia is more severely affected by supply issues compared to other countries, emphasized Professor Martin.
“We actually import over 90 percent of our medications from predominantly China and India, we don’t manufacture much in Australia,” Professor Martin said.
“We have a generic industry that’s pretty small, but essentially it means that we’re really at the behest of the global community because we’re sort of at the bottom of the supply chain.”
Various state health departments have issued warnings about supply disruptions and implemented stockpiling measures.
Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson expressed concerns about potential shortages flagged by local health authorities that could significantly impact the entire health sector.
“The health system potentially could come to a grinding halt next week if intravenous fluid isn’t available,” Professor Robson said.
He stated that if fluids are not available, planned surgeries would be postponed and the supply shortage is unprecedented.
“That would affect every surgeon, every anaesthetist and every patient awaiting surgery in the country. That has potentially bigger implications than the COVID restrictions,” he said.
New South Wales (NSW) Health issued a safety alert in mid-July regarding critical shortages for up to three weeks, while Victoria is aware of the issue but has not experienced any disruptions in patient care.
Tasmania has built a “small buffer” of high-volume lines and raised concerns with the TGA more than 18 months ago, according to a health department spokesperson.
“Given the potential implications for the delivery of hospital services, the department continues to advocate for the issue to be addressed at a national level,” they said.
The situation in the ACT is constantly evolving, with daily monitoring of stock and collaboration between public health services, ambulances, and private hospitals for supply sharing as needed, stated a spokesperson.
Statewide incident controller Wayne Champion from South Australia Health mentioned that stock conservation measures are being taken “out of an abundance of caution,” but the state currently has an adequate supply.
No impact has been reported by authorities in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.
Australian Veterinary Association president Sally Colgan noted that veterinarians are aware of the issue and seeking alternative solutions.
“Veterinarians are being advised that they need to manage their supply and they need to manage their use of fluids so that they can conserve the fluids that they have,” she said.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has permitted the importation of multiple overseas-registered alternative saline fluids in an effort to boost supply, while collaborating with state and territory authorities.
“The TGA is also working closely with the three Australian suppliers of IV fluid products to monitor the situation and address any regulatory barriers to supply,” a spokesperson stated.
