It is a common and easy preparation – but saline solution is still in short supply. According to a report, hospitals and doctor’s offices are currently experiencing supply problems. And that could last for some time.
A shortage of saline solutions becomes a problem for clinics and doctor’s offices. According to a media report, the preparation required for infusions, flushing and operations is now also affected by delivery bottlenecks. “There is currently far too little saline solution. What has been a big problem in hospitals for months is now also reaching outpatient care,” said Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine Pharmacists’ Association, to the Rheinische Post.
Numerous manufacturers of saline solutions could no longer supply pharmacies sufficiently. “We urgently need stable supply chains for everyday medicines such as saline solutions. They only cost a few cents to produce, but are irreplaceable in patient care,” said Preis. “That’s why such delivery bottlenecks shouldn’t actually occur.” He demanded that politicians “urgently take more responsibility”.
NRWMinistry of Health alarmed
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia also expressed alarm to the newspaper: “In the last few weeks, clinics from North Rhine-Westphalia, including university hospitals, have approached the ministry because they are having very big problems supplying sufficient quantities of sterile isotonic saline solution for infusion and rinsing purposes,” said the spokesman for the NRW Ministry of Health. “Accordingly, the clinics in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany have only been supplied with around 80 percent of their requirements for several months, and recently only around 50 percent.”
When asked by the Rheinische Post, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) said that the bottlenecks would continue for months. “The delivery bottleneck reports from the approval holder Fresenius Kabi Deutschland GmbH predict the end of the delivery bottleneck for the three reported drugs for December 31, 2024,” it said.
Problems with 500 medications
Overall, there are currently problems with the supply of numerous medications. According to the BfArM portal, almost 500 medicines are currently affected by delivery bottlenecks. Doctors and pharmacists have been warning about shortages for weeks – including for important preparations such as antibiotics, insulin or painkillers and narcotics.
It is feared that the cold season could increase demand to such an extent that patients would not always be able to receive full care.
The majority of the preparations are imported
According to the German Pharmaceutical Society, one reason for the shortage is that there are fewer and fewer manufacturers on the market for many substances, sometimes even just one. If a manufacturer leaves the market for financial reasons, this could lead to problems. “If he has produced large quantities, other companies can often no longer fill the resulting gap,” says Ulrike Holzgrabe from the University of Würzburg.
In addition, the majority of medicines are imported from other countries such as China or India, which is why it is not possible to respond to short-term shortages. There have also been supply bottlenecks in recent years, mainly affecting painkillers and antibiotics, but also fever juices for children. The reasons included the disruption of supply chains and increased demand.
BMG: Delivery bottlenecks and Supply shortages differentiate
The Federal Ministry of Health emphasizes that there is no “supply shortage” of medicines in Germany, but rather “selective supply bottlenecks in a very complex market”. A spokesman recently explained that a distinction must be made between delivery bottlenecks and supply bottlenecks. In addition, the traffic light coalition passed the delivery bottleneck law last year, which is intended to solve the problem.