IV fluid shortage: Is there light at the end of the tunnel or just more government promises?

MedTech & Diagnostics News: Australia’s hospitals continue to grapple with the critical shortage of IV fluids, with no clear timeline for when supply levels will return to normal. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has raised concerns over the critical shortage, warning that it “poses a serious risk to the operations of our healthcare system.”

The impacted IV fluids are supplied by Baxter Healthcare, B. Braun, and Fresenius Kabi. Alternative solutions like Plasma-Lyte 148 and Ionolyte are not expected to sufficiently cover the shortfall.

Joyce expressed his frustration, stating, “Saline IV bags are absolutely critical to the emergency healthcare provided to patients in Australian hospitals, but doctors in every hospital around our nation were told to ration the amounts being used for their patients. This cannot go on.”

Recently Senator Katy Gallagher admitted that the Albanese government had been aware of the impending shortage since May 2023 but failed to act.

“It was shocking to hear the minister confirm that the government had known about the impending shortage for more than a year and had failed to take action. The Albanese government refused to show leadership on this national shortage and instead lied, deflected, and refused to take responsibility,” Joyce said.

He also highlighted that overseas regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and New Zealand’s Pharmac have had minimal to no supply issues.

“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. This was clearly a crisis of the government’s own making,” he added.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler made an announcement recently, claiming 22 million IV fluid bags have been secured for the next six months – only 3 million more than the usual 19 million supply quantity that would apply for that period.

“We’re not through the woods yet, but we’re certainly in a much better position than we were a few months ago,” Minister Butler said.

He acknowledged that the shortage had “slipped under the radar” due to an assumption that IV fluids would always be readily available, and called for better coordination and notification systems within the healthcare sector.

Minister Butler also alluded to the opening of an additional production line at Baxter Healthcare in the coming weeks.

“We need to think in the medium to long term about how we can avoid getting into this position again. It’s part of a broader question about our sovereign capability in the area of medicines and medical technology,” Minister Butler added.

In NSW, health authorities have adjusted their safety protocols, with a directive from NSW Health issued on 20 September reducing the frequency of stock audits from twice weekly to once a week. HealthShare NSW, the Clinical Excellence Commission, and the Ministry of Health are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating IV fluid orders centrally to support the redistribution of supplies across the state.

In Victoria, a similar approach has been taken, with Safer Care Victoria, HealthShare Victoria and the Department of Health holding weekly meetings to monitor and advise on the conservation of IV fluids.

Clinicians nationwide have been “encouraged to report any adverse events or near misses related to the IV fluid supply disruption”, as healthcare providers brace for ongoing challenges until normal supply levels are restored some time in 2025.

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