The Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven is going to help other hospitals in the Netherlands with infusion bags. Due to hurricane Helene in the US, there is a major shortage of infusion fluid worldwide. As a result, hospitals in our country are also in danger of getting into trouble.
The hospital pharmacy of ‘Catrien’ is one of the few hospital pharmacies in the Netherlands that produces its own medication on a large scale.
But they don’t normally make the filled infusion bags that are currently in great shortage. “Our employees are switched on at such a moment,” says the manager. “We are happy that we can do our bit to reduce the shortages,” says manager Roeland van den Berg of the hospital pharmacy.
Production
“We have started producing 3,500 infusion bags per week. We are still looking at whether we can scale up further. These bags are for our own hospital and for other hospitals.”
Van den Berg is receiving requests for help from all over the country. “Eight fellow hospitals from all over the Netherlands have now approached us for whom we are now producing. There are also hospitals from Brabant among them.” Van den Berg does not want to say which ones they are.
Factory closed
Infusion bags are used to administer fluids to patients via an IV, for example after surgery. Often medication such as antibiotics, morphine or chemotherapy is also administered via an IV.
The shortage began last month when a large plant in the United States that makes infusion fluids was damaged by Hurricane Helene and had to close temporarily.
Complement together
According to the National Coordination Centre for Medicines (LCG), this has resulted in a quarter fewer filled infusion bags being delivered to the Netherlands. That is between 150,000 and 160,000 bags per month. The shortage will probably last until mid-January next year.
Can they completely fill the shortage at Catharina? “Not on our own. But together with a number of other hospital pharmacies in the country and a number of measures, we can come a long way.”
Advice: be frugal
Hospitals are advised to deal with the shortages by using the infusion fluids more sparingly. They must also consider whether the medicines can be administered in a different way.
The LCG remotely monitors the hospitals’ stocks. Where immediate shortages threaten, other hospitals are asked to share their stocks. For the time being, all care can continue and the shortage does not pose a risk to patients, the LCG reports.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
