IV bags made in Puerto Rico in short supply
Canada depends on manufacturer for supply, but hospital patients not at risk
The hurricane that hammered Puerto Rico nearly two months ago has also blown aside the usual supply of medical bags used to administer some drugs in Canada — but not so much that patients are at risk.
The small bags, filled with either saline or a type of sugar called dextrose, are used by doctors and nurses to safely inject drugs with enough salt or sugar to match what’s in the patient’s blood.
Many hospitals in Southwestern Ontario use the bags.
For two sizes of the bags, Canada depended almost entirely on those made by supplier Baxter at three factories in Puerto Rico. While Baxter was able to restore its factories and use generators rather quickly, production has been slowed by factors outside the company’s control — badly damaged roads, a broken electrical grid and employees whose first priority had to be rebuilding their homes from hurricane Maria, which on Sept. 20 pounded the U.S. territory located near Haiti.
Since then, Baxter has cut back its supply of 50 ml and 100 ml bags to Canada to as low as 25 per cent of the normal volume, the level varying from week to week.
Hospitals such as the London Health Sciences Centre — Southwestern Ontario’s largest — have adjusted by making use of other safe ways to deliver drugs.
Smaller 25 ml bags are being used more often, while syringes are being used more where appropriate, with nurses using what’s called a “slow push” that takes three to five minutes, said Neil Johnson, the hospital’s vice-president of pharmacy services.
With those conservation efforts, there’s no imminent risk of running out, he said.
That’s also been the experience at many other hospitals and health agencies, according to a consortium that buys medical supplies, Mohawk Medbuy Corp.
“Our members have adopted conservation efforts,” said Grant Beamish, the company’s director of business development and communications. “The hospitals have been managing fairly efficiently.”
Health Canada also arranged for an emergency supply last week from another manufacturer that added more than 100,000 bags.
Baxter was making virtually all the medical bags for Canada, though the bags are filled in Canada with saline or dextrose, Beamish said.
Our members have adopted conservation efforts. The hospitals have been managing fairly efficiently.