Critics slam ‘manufactured’ shortage of IV fluids

MedTech & Diagnostics News: Federal Health Minister Mark Butler MP has announced the procurement of an additional 22 million IV fluid bags over the next six months to address what he termed “global supply limitations,” a claim met with ongoing scepticism.

Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston has criticised the government, saying, “It is disappointing that the Minister continues to mislead the Australian public. The government had more than 12 months’ notice of an impending shortage, and no other country around the world has experienced supply issues on the same scale as Australia.

“There is nothing ‘unexpected’ or ‘global’ about this shortage. This has been a crisis of the government’s own making, and it has impacted Australian patients.”

Minister Butler highlighted, “Baxter has advised the Response Group it is manufacturing IV fluids at its Sydney manufacturing site at record levels. In the coming weeks Baxter will expand its local manufacturing plant so that more IV fluid bags can be made locally.”

He added, “The TGA is aware that jurisdictions are alerting staff of the situation and instructing all staff to use IV stock judiciously. Decisions on service prioritisation of available IV fluid stock are matters managed at the state and territory level.”

Dr Andrew Miller, an anaesthetist and former president of the Australia Society of Anaesthetists and Australian Medical Association (AMA) WA, warned in an opinion piece, “Our governments are peddling porky pies that this is an international problem, but our many contacts overseas deny having similar issues.”

He added, “We are now being told to reduce the amounts of IV fluid that we use for routine procedures, but we will not disadvantage our patients. We use fluids for a reason, and have not been wasting any significant quantities before now, so if supplies run low, some elective operations will have to be delayed as we quarantine enough for emergencies.”

Dr Emilia Dauway, VP of the AMA QLD and a General, Breast and Oncologic Surgeon, voiced concern, saying, “During my 25 years of surgical practice…I have not seen this before. It is concerning and we may need to rethink how we source our fundamental healthcare resources.”

Christine Gee AM, CEO of the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA), told Health Industry Hub, “APHA and the private sector are contributing to the national strategic planning and management of the shortages, through direct collaboration with jurisdictions, the Commonwealth and suppliers.”

Dr Miller concluded, “No one will accept responsibility for this spectacular display of mediocrity, but it’s reasonable for patients to demand that governments have sufficient basic competence to supply the simplest tools for our struggling health system.”

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