Expatica news

Adrenaline shortages at hospitals

10 April 2007

BRUSSELS – Belgian hospitals are facing an adrenaline shortage. Hospira, one of the most important suppliers, may not yet deliver the product to the Belgian market and is awaiting approval from the government.

Hospitals are having to buy from abroad to accommodate, Het Belang van Limburg reported today.

It is still not clear how long the approval process will take. “The adrenaline was produced by Abbott Laboratories until recently, but is now being manufactured by its sister company Hospira,” says a spokesperson for Hospira. “The government now has to approve the change in licensing. We cannot deliver until that time. It’s a great inconvenience.”

Almost all large Belgian hospitals now have a shortage of adrenaline. Doctors mainly use the substance in emergency rooms in order to reanimate patients. “This is a vital medication,” says a spokesperson for the university hospital in Ghent.

“We started our own laboratory not long ago in order to deal with the shortage. But that is an extremely expensive operation. The adrenaline we buy abroad is many times cheaper.”

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news