The Squiz 

Australian doctors have rung a warning bell over the worldwide shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids – aka saline drip bags – which they say is forcing them to ration IVs in hospitals, even for those undergoing surgery. The problem has been bubbling along for weeks now, and last Friday, Health Minister Mark Butler pulled together an emergency group to look for answers. But as that happens, doctors say they’re “being left in the dark” by health authorities about the situation. David Story, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists’ President, says “if there is a continued decrease in supply, elective surgery may be cancelled”.

Sounds serious…

Yep. If you’ve never needed them and don’t get what the fuss is about, IV fluids are a pretty standard – but crucial – way of treating people suffering from dehydration, illness, infection and even injuries. The Australian Medical Association President, Clinician Steve Robson, says the shortage is obvious to him and his colleagues. Yesterday, he said “with my own surgical list that I’ve just finished this morning we had major problems sourcing appropriate intravenous fluids”. What’s not so obvious is why there’s a shortage – although some have pointed to high demand clashing with international manufacturing constraints, and reports this morning say we’re still exporting fluids to New Zealand (paywall). That has our former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth asking why Australian manufacturers can’t step in… “A lot of people will be questioning why it’s so hard to make salt water – and I am too,” he says.

So what’s being done?

Well, the pressure’s mounting on Butler to figure out a solution at a federal level… He says our Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) “has approved a number of alternative supplies from overseas to supplement the local production, which is managing to get us through this period of higher demand”. But Senator Anne Ruston, the Coalition’s health spokesperson, says Butler “cannot hide behind the TGA on this issue”. She’s called on the Albanese Government to “urgently commit to a nationally-coordinated response to the shortage”. Health officials are dealing with a bit at the moment – particularly after the World Health Organisation declared the latest Mpox outbreak in Africa as a global health emergency. It’s all happening…